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Glite Dictionary
dyestuff

dyestuff

7.7
A substance used to add color to cloth and hair
  • noun
  • /ˈdaɪˌstʌf/
translation icon : tinte
  • " There are treatises by authorities," he notes, "describing how by means of dyestuffs emeralds and other transparent colored gems are made from rock crystal....

Examples

  • The artist chose a vibrant dyestuff to give the fabric a rich color for her new project.

  • "What has New England to do with knowing about dyestuffs?" I asked.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Salvarsan, as the drug came to be known, had been produced by a nearby dyestuffs manufacturer eager to develop chemicals.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Artificial dyestuffs made from coal tar became more popular than he could have dreamed, prompting a whole new industry to make them.

    Academic text (2010)

  • He'd never grown accustomed to the colors of this world, its alien dyestuffs and yet more alien aesthetics, and after a while he had given up trying.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The compound is widely employed in the industrial processing of pharmaceuticals, plastics, paper, rubber, insecticides, textiles, dyestuff, petroleum, and some synthetic sweeteners (1, 2).

    Academic text (1993)

  • Other ARS research on cotton has reached the consumer in the form of fiber-reactive dyestuff groups that allow cotton to be dyed brighter colors and better flame-retardant treatments, including new-on-the-market, fire-resistant cotton carpet.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The factory specializes in creating eco-friendly dyestuffs for the textile industry.

  • Before dyeing the wool, she carefully selected the right dyestuff to achieve the desired shade.

Synonyms

color
vsdyestuff
  • US
514 1.0

A paint or dye used to give something a particular shade

is narrower meaning a soluble stain used mainly on fabrics and hair
dye
vsdyestuff
85 2.0

A substance used to change the color of cloth or hair

is soluble and used to stain materials rather than just coat them
colorant
vsdyestuff
  • US
1 4.0

A thing added to food, fabric, paint, or cosmetics to give color

is specific to soluble staining of textiles and hair rather than broad additives
coloring material
vsdyestuff
  • US
3.3

A substance that gives color to something like food or cloth

is used as a soluble stain mainly for textiles and hair not surface tinting

How Colorfast

vat color
  • Specialized
9.1
direct dye
  • Specialized
5.4
dyestuff
7.7

Surface Forms

dyestuff singular
dyestuffs plural

Morphology

dyestuff = dye + stuff (transparent) = dye + stuff

The meaning 'a substance used for dyeing' follows directly from 'dye' + 'stuff' where 'stuff' denotes a material or substance.

Etymology

Dyestuff is simply dye + stuff, meaning material used to give 'color'. Long before modern chemistry, people made dyes from plants and insects, so today a dyestuff is a substance you can mix in water to color fabrics or hair.