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Glite Dictionary
color vision

color vision

1 2.5
To see and tell different colors with your eyes
  • noun
  • /ˈkʌlər ˈvɪʒən/
  • US
translation icon : visión en color
  • Scientists study the evolution of color vision to understand how different species perceive their environment.
  • full color vision
  • red-green color vision

And we are most dissimilar in color vision, OK?

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Examples

  • Some animals, like turtles, have color filters to further improve color vision.

    Blog text (28)

  • Humans, great apes, and Old World monkeys have three opsins, which provide full color vision across the spectrum, from violet through blue, green, and yellow, and on to red.

    Academic text (2006)

  • And it's not just their color vision that is amazing.

    Academic text (2009)

  • We humans pride ourselves on our color vision.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Today we are going to discuss color vision and adaptation.

  • The capacity for color vision has evolved in many ways among many animals.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Mantis shrimp have more complex color vision than any other creature we know about.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Each student completed the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue test, and all were found to have normal color vision and at least average color discrimination ability.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Many animals rely on their color vision to find food and mates.

  • Humans with a deficiency in color vision may struggle to differentiate between red and green.

Synonyms

chromatic vision
vscolor vision
6.5

To see and tell different colors apart

is the general term that does not stress contrast with gray-only sight

Antonyms

color blindness
  • US
1 3.7

Not able to tell some colors, often red and green

How Color-Sensitive

color vision
  • US
1 2.5
color blindness
  • US
1 3.7

Surface Forms

color vision singular
colour vision singular

Morphology

color + vision

The meaning 'the ability to perceive and distinguish different colors' is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents 'color' (hue, tint) and 'vision' (visual perception). This straightforward noun+noun combination is cross-linguistically common and follows predictable semantic composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Color vision is a simple compound of color (the different reds, blues and greens we see) and vision (seeing with the eyes). That's why it means 'ability to see and tell colors apart'.