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colored

colored

5 9.9
An offensive old name for Black people in the United States
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊlərd/
  • Slur
: [término ofensivo para una persona negra]
  • I say coloreds, but I understand from my daughter we are now African Americans.
  • coloreds and Indians
  • Medical School (Colored)
  • Colored and whites

Examples

  • Thus, while the search for a new race designation ensued, Colored continued as the popular term of choice, and African and Negro were eschewed.

    Academic text (1994)
  • COLORED OFFICER takes his hand, and he raises himself up with an effort and speaks.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • MAN: Some of us was in the Second Kansas Colored.

  • I like the coloreds used to live here.

  • I guess there's a lot more to you coloreds than I thought.

  • I didn't invite the coloreds onto the block!

  • All the complainants have been coloreds.

  • I got whites and coloreds saw 'em, but... last time I checked, there was nothing illegal with registering to vote.

  • The entire population will be entered on a central register with separate classification for whites, natives, and coloreds.

  • Just because bathrooms don't say colored and White doesn't mean these discriminatory behaviors have stopped.

Synonyms

Black person
vscolored
395 1.2

A person with dark skin whose family comes from Africa

refers to that same group but is archaic and offensive in the United States

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

People with light skin

Compounds

23 2.4

Not dark in color, often pale like white

21 1.3

Having a dark shade, like deep blue or black

17 9.9

An old offensive term in the United States for Black people

A thing that has strong, vivid colors

A shiny color like metal, for example silver or gold

Having a pale yellowish-white color like fresh cream

8 5.1

A way of seeing things as better than they are and ignoring problems

Having the color of a ripe orange

4 2.4

To have a shiny yellow color like gold

4 2.3

Having a light color that is not bright

A pale pink or light brown color like human skin

Having light, soft colors like pale pink or blue

3 3.0

A reddish-brown or orange-brown color like old metal

3 4.1

A color like beige or grey that does not draw attention

A color that is yellowish brown like honey

A pale pinkish orange color like a ripe peach

2 2.3

A shiny light grey color like the metal used for coins and jewelry

2 3.4

A red-brown color like copper

2 3.4

Having one color with no pattern

Having a deep brown color like dark chocolate

A pale yellow color like dry straw

1 3.0

A deep red color like red wine

1 6.9

A dull greyish-brown color like the fur of some horses

1 2.6

A light pink color like that of a rose

Pale yellowish white like fresh cream

A warm reddish brown like the coat of some horses

A yellow-green color like green olives

1 5.7

A pale yellow-brown color like light leather

Having a purple color between blue and red

1 3.4

A pale, light purple color that looks soft

1 4.2

A light yellowish brown color like a young deer

A warm yellowish brown color like dry grass or a lion's fur

A light brown with a little red like cinnamon

1 5.5

A dull grey-blue color like old metal

A reddish-brown color like the fur of some dogs

Having a soft dark color like the sky at dusk

A pale pinkish orange color like a ripe peach

Having a shiny color like silver or gold

1 4.8

Having a deep dark red color like a red jewel

colored hearing
  • Specialized
1 9.9

An experience of seeing colors when you hear sounds, especially music

1 9.9

A hurtful phrase that says Black people are often late

A glossy black bird with a pink back and belly found mainly in Asia

A small bird with dull brown-gray feathers that lives in Mexico and Central America

colored audition
  • Specialized
9.9

A condition in which sounds make someone see colors

A pale sandy bird that runs quickly across dry plains

A shiny black bird with a pink back and belly that lives in Asia

A small North American bird with mostly grey feathers and a white belly

Surface Forms

colored singular
coloreds plural

Morphology

colored = colored (opaque) = color + ed

The noun is a converted use of the adjective 'colored', but the offensive racial meaning is historical and not compositionally predictable from 'color' + '-ed'.

Etymology

The noun colored comes from color, meaning 'skin tone' or 'hue'. In the past in the United States it was used to refer to Black people, but this meaning is now offensive and old-fashioned.