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olive

olive

19 3.5
Of a dull yellow-green color often used for clothes
  • adjective
  • /ˈɑːlɪv/
translation icon : verde oliva
  • He's middle-aged, olive-skinned, in a dark suit that shows off his significant dandruff.
  • olive green

And so you might become pale or ashy or an olive skin can turn kind of yellowish.

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Examples

  • The only one who looks like Lorenzo is Romy, with her smooth, olive skin.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I'll just show you how it looks when I've got more of an olive shade on.

  • It's olive or black in color.

  • Kind of a mix of gold and a little olive as well.

  • That's very clearly an olive door.

  • Really, her skin was more olive-colored than yellow; or maybe that was a trick of the light.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • There's cool tone, olive tone, deep and golden.

  • On the tiled floor beside him sat an olive green medium-sized duffel bag, zipped shut.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Emerald tends to have a deeper, more verdant hue, whereas peridot is lighter and more olive-colored.

  • The walls were painted in a soft olive color that created a calming atmosphere.

Synonyms

chartreuse
vsolive
4 7.9

A pale yellow-green color like new leaves

is more intense and more yellow-tinged than that paler color
olive-colored
vsolive
1 3.7

A yellow-green color like green olives

has identical meaning but is the shorter single word form
olive-green
vsolive
2.9

A yellowish green color slightly lighter than dark green

is darker and less green than that lighter shade

Idioms

2 4.2

Offer to make peace after an argument

Compounds

126 1.0

A liquid made by pressing olives used for cooking and salads

olive branch
  • Informal
12 3.7

A gesture showing a wish to make peace after a disagreement

8 1.4

A small tree that keeps its leaves all year and makes olives for food and oil

5 1.4

A ripe dark olive preserved in salt water or oil and used in cooking

2 2.1

A small unripe olive kept in salty water and often eaten as a snack or on salads

1 2.7

A liquid that comes from olives used in cooking or drinks

A dark purple olive with an almond shape from Greece used in salads

1 2.1

An olive picked when fully ripe and kept for eating

1 5.1

A dull green-brown color often used for military clothes and gear

A yellow-green color like green olives

1 6.3

A light brownish-green color that you see on military uniforms

1 2.4

A dark yellowish green color like leaves and army uniforms

California olive
  • Specialized
8.8

A coastal tree with fragrant leaves, small clusters of creamy flowers, and olive-like fruit

9.5

A spiny desert shrub that makes small pale flowers and black berries

A small tree from the southern United States that has white flowers and dark purple fruit

An evergreen tree that grows in the Mediterranean and produces olives for food and oil

8.4

A small tree or bush with silvery leaves, small yellow fruits, and sometimes thorns

A brown color with a small touch of green like olives

A United States Army uniform made of dull green cloth

A gray color with a hint of olive green

A yellowish green color slightly lighter than dark green

olive family
  • Specialized
5.6

A group of flowering trees and shrubs like olive, jasmine, and lilac

olive ridley
  • Specialized
7.3

A small sea turtle with an olive-colored shell that often nests in large groups on beaches

A brown color with a greenish tinge like green olives

About the size of an olive

A red mushroom that glows faintly and grows on olive trees

wild olive
  • Indian
8.9

A shrub or climbing plant with small red fruits like olives

How Yellow-Green

olive
19 3.5
pale yellow
4 1.0

Surface Forms

olive positive

Etymology

Olive The word olive for the yellow-green color comes from the name of the fruit, from Latin oliva and Greek elaia, and it recalls the pale green of an unripe olive, so we call that shade 'olive'.