colourful
US spellingcolorful
- 1Having lots of different bright colours.
She wore a colourful scarf with red, yellow and blue stripes.
The market stalls were full of colourful fruit and flowers.
Similarbright, vibrant, vivid, multicoloured
Oppositedrab, dull, colourless
- 2Lively and interesting in an unusual way.
My grandad was a colourful man who told the best stories.
She has had a colourful life, working as a singer, a teacher and a sailor.
UsageOften a colourful character. A colourful past may hint at wild or bad things.
Similarflamboyant, lively, eventful, interesting
- 3A polite way of saying that someone's words are rude or full of swearing.
When he dropped the box on his foot, he used some colourful language.
The referee did not like the striker's colourful language and showed him a yellow card.
UsageMostly in colourful language. On its own the word usually just means bright or lively.
Similarchoice, salty, crude, coarse
Note
Practice
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Origin
Made from colour with -ful added.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Colourful is formed from colour with the suffix -ful. en.wiktionary.org