Skip to main content
grayish-white

grayish-white

1 2.6
A pale white color with a little gray
  • adjective
  • /ˈɡreɪɪʃ waɪt/
  • US
translation icon : blanco grisáceo
  • The sky was filled with a soft, grayish-white hue as the sun began to set.
  • grayish-white hair

Examples

  • It was made of grayish-white bricks, which had darkened a long time ago.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • In the searchlight, Bobby's red face looked grayish-white; lines I didn't usually notice sprang into craggy relief.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A grayish-white border of dirt made a ring around the top edge of the tub.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Her current canvas was so far nothing but a blur of the same grayish-white.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • He had always liked that house, and she was solid and firm-looking like it, with her grayish-white hair.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A grayish-white semicircle is drifting near the door, popping in and looking about.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • When infected flowers or leaves are plucked, a grayish-white cloud of fungal spores can usually be seen.

    Academic text (2000)
  • She had grayish-white hair and grape-blue eyes recessed under thick brows.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The majority, however, rapidly develop a central area of necrosis which replaces the papule with a central scale of grayish-white color which has been exactly likened to porcelain.

    Academic text (2007)
  • She chose a grayish-white paint for the walls to create a calming atmosphere in the room.

Synonyms

whitish
vsgrayish-white
4 1.6

Light in color, slightly pale like milk

is specifically white with a grey tinge rather than general paleness
off-white
vsgrayish-white
1 3.0

A pale color close to white with a slight hint of another color

indicates white tinged by grey specifically not other color tints
gray-white
vsgrayish-white
  • US
1 2.8

A white color with a little grey in it

has identical meaning but differs only in word form
tattletale gray
vsgrayish-white
  • US
8.0

A very light grey that looks almost white

refers to white with a subtle grey tinge rather than pure white

How White

white
1.0
off-white
1 3.0
grayish-white
  • US
1 2.6
gray
  • US
321 1.0

Surface Forms

grayish-white positive

Morphology

grayish-white = grayish + white (transparent) = grayish + white

A straightforward compound of 'grayish' (gray + -ish) and 'white'; learners who know 'gray', the suffix '-ish', and 'white' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Grayish-white simply joins gray and white with the ending -ish, which means 'somewhat' or 'kind of', like in bluish. So the word describes something that is 'white with a touch of gray'.