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ultramarine blue

ultramarine blue

1 6.8
A deep bright blue paint color first made from a stone called lapis lazuli and now often made artificially
  • noun
  • /ˌʌltrəməˈrin blu/
translation icon : ultramar
  • The artist chose ultramarine blue for the deep ocean in her painting, creating a vibrant and mesmerizing effect.
  • ultramarine blue, alizarin
  • ultramarine blue, cobalt
  • ultramarine blue, cerulean

Examples

  • Al Azarian Crimson, titanium white, ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, cadmium yellow light, the colors aren't exactly the same.

  • For her landscape, she mixed ultramarine blue with white to depict a clear summer sky.

  • He added a touch of ultramarine blue to the palette to enhance the richness of the sunset colors.

Synonyms

ultramarine
vsultramarine blue
1 7.6

A bright deep blue color used in paint

focuses on a deep pigment made from powdered lapis lazuli
lapis
vsultramarine blue
8.6

A deep blue pigment made from a blue stone for painting

includes synthetic substitutes as well as the original natural pigment
French ultramarine blue
vsultramarine blue
  • Specialized
7.4

An intense blue pigment made by people for use in painting

is the deep pigment originally from powdered lapis lazuli rather than only artificial forms
French ultramarine
vsultramarine blue
  • Specialized
8.3

A bright deep blue colour used in paint and art

includes the original natural stone pigment as well as synthetic substances
French blue
vsultramarine blue
  • Specialized
7.9

A bright deep blue colour used for paint and cloth

is the deep pigment including the original stone source and its synthetic copies

How Deep

ultramarine blue
1 6.8
cobalt blue
5 3.7
azure
12 4.9
sky-blue
1 1.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

ultramarine + blue

The phrase is compositional: 'ultramarine' denotes a particular brilliant/deep blue pigment and 'blue' names the color, so together they describe that specific shade or pigment. Color modifier + color is a common, cross-linguistically transparent pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the meaning.

Etymology

Ultramarine blue gets its name from words that mean 'beyond the sea', with ultra meaning 'beyond' and marine meaning 'sea'. The deep blue pigment was made from a rare stone called lapis lazuli that came from far away and was shipped across the sea, so the name now refers to that rich, vivid blue color.