to show colour
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
mostrar color
- She likes to show colour through her bold fashion choices.
Examples
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The artist shows colour in every painting.
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The tulips in the garden will show colour in early April.
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As the festival began, the entire city started to show colour and vibrancy.
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Her dress showed colour beautifully at the party.
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At the art exhibit, the sculptures began to show colour as the sunlight hit them.
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The children's drawings really show colour; they used bright crayons and various shades.
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During spring, the trees show colour when their blossoms bloom in vibrant shades.
Synonyms
9
6.3
To let people see who you really are, often under pressure
Make something brighter and more lively with colour or style
Act in a loud way to get attention and impress people
How Colorful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal meaning 'to display colour' follows directly from combining 'show' (to display) with 'colour' (visual attribute), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the primary sense. The figurative sense of visibly expressing personality (as in 'show your colours') is a natural, cross-linguistic metaphorical extension and remains predictable from the constituents rather than fully idiomatic.
Etymology
Show colour may come from the image of people or ships raising bright flags, or fans wearing team colours, to make themselves clearly seen. To show a bright colour is to make your look or character visible, so today it means 'display bright colours' or 'show your personality'.