Find The Right Shade With This Full List Of Colors

The world is a rich tapestry, and when it comes to describing colors, it helps to use language that expresses this as clearly as possible. That means going beyond the basic red, yellow, blue, etc. and using splashy synonyms like crimson, saffron, and azure. This article lists nearly every color of the rainbow, as well as black and white. As a bonus, we will also show you how to effectively use these polychromatic names for different hues, or “a gradation or variety of a color; tint.”

Types of colors

The color spectrum contains thousands of colors, but all of them start with the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The primary colors are mixed together to create the secondary colors: orange, green, and purple.

What about white and black? White is the absence of pigment or color. Technically, white reflects all of the colors of the spectrum. Black, in contrast, absorbs all of the colors of the spectrum. You can think about it as a mix of all the pigments or colors.

Many of the synonyms on this list are tertiary colors, or a mix of two secondary colors, or a primary and a secondary color. When it comes to using them, you will want to think carefully about the hue you are trying to describe. For example, mint is different from moss, even though they are both hues of green.

What is ROYGBIV?

The colors of the rainbow are often expressed by the acronym ROYGBIV, which stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. For our purposes here, we have included indigo as a shade of blue and violet as a shade of purple, but otherwise we will be following this popular outline.

Red

The color red demands your attention. Symbolic of both love and danger, common hues of red include shades of brown, yellow, or orange. When it comes to using synonyms of red to spice up a sentence, it will be important to take note of which hue will be most appropriate.

  • We stuffed our faces with the ripe, red cherries.

Cherries are typically a purplish-red color (although there are some with a more yellow hue). Crimson means “deep purplish-red,” so that makes it a good fit as a synonym:

  • We stuffed our faces with the ripe, crimson cherries.

Rainier cherries are a special variety of cherry that has a more yellow-orange hue. Which of these synonyms for red would be best to describe Rainier cherries?

Shades of red

You can learn more about synonyms for red, including examples of each of the colors, here.

Orange

Orange is a secondary color made by combining the primary colors red and yellow. Many of the hues of orange have different amounts of red or yellow, but some also include brown or pink. Many of the synonyms of orange should be used to modify orange in a sentence. For example:

  • She had a large orange cat who liked to sun itself on the terrace.
  • She had a large marmalade-orange cat who liked to sun itself on the terrace.

However, with some terms, you have the option of replacing orange in the sentence with the synonym:

  • She had a large marmalade cat who liked to sun itself on the terrace.

Shades of orange

You can learn more about synonyms for orange, including examples of each of the colors, here.

Yellow

The color yellow is the second primary color. It is associated with feelings of joy, hopefulness, and energy. Many hues of yellow include shades of orange, red, or brown. As we have seen with red or orange, you can use a synonym for yellow to modify your description. When you create this kind of compound adjective before the noun, you put a hyphen between the two terms.

  • Hanging in the kitchen window were cheerful yellow curtains.
  • Hanging in the kitchen window were cheerful saffron-yellow curtains.

A hyphen isn’t necessary when the compound adjective comes after the noun:

  • The curtains hanging in the kitchen window were saffron yellow.

Shades of yellow

You can learn more about synonyms for yellow, including examples of each of the colors, here.

Green

The color green is a secondary color that is created with a combination of yellow and blue. Green is associated with nature, growth, life, and luck.

We have already noted two ways to use these synonyms in a sentence. You can replace the original word altogether, or use it before the original color, occasionally with a hyphen. There is a third way you can use these words in a sentence: by adding -colored after it. For example:

  • In the shop window, he spotted a green couch he knew would be perfect for the living room.
  • In the shop window, he spotted an olive-green couch he knew would be perfect for the living room.
  • In the shop window, he spotted an olive-colored couch he knew would be perfect for the living room.

Shades of green

You can learn more about synonyms for green, including examples of each of the colors, here.

Blue

Blue is the final primary color in the color spectrum. The color blue often symbolizes peace, water, and health. The word blue comes from Anglo-French blew, meaning “blue, livid, discolored.” Livid refers to the bluish color caused by a bruise.

There are a variety of synonyms for the modifier -colored that you can use. For example:

As you can see, you put the modifier after the color adjective and include a hyphen.

  • The couple looked out over the blue sea.
  • The couple looked out over the turquoise-hued sea.

Sounds romantic.

Shades of blue

You can learn more about synonyms for blue, including examples of each of the colors, here.

Purple

There isn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but that is where you will find the color purple. Although, it is very difficult to see purple in a rainbow. They typically end in blue. It can be found at the end of the visible color spectrum. Purple is a secondary color that is created by combining red and blue. It is often used to represent royalty, power, and strength.

In order to project strength with your colors, or your color descriptions anyway, it is important not to overuse adjectives. When replacing a generic color like purple with a more specific tint like lavender, you may no longer need any adjectives you were already using. For example:

  • The whole bedroom was painted a shocking dark reddish-purple color.
  • The whole bedroom was painted a shocking dark reddish-magenta color.

The word magenta already means “a purplish red,” so the “dark reddish” part of the sentence is redundant.

  • The whole bedroom was painted a shocking magenta color.

Shades of purple

You can learn more about synonyms for purple, including examples of each of the colors, here.

Black

Strictly speaking, black occurs when all of the visible light is absorbed. In a way, it’s like a combination of all the colors. There are still shades of black, often describing the various depth and textures of the hue. The synonym jet, meaning “a deep black,” is often used to modify the adjective black, as in:

  • She pulled her jet-black hair into a ponytail.

You may be wondering what jet has to do with the color black. While jet can refer to a jet plane, when it modifies the color black, jet refers to “a compact black coal.” Other industrial-related nouns similarly typically modify the color black in a sentence:

  • I looked out into the pitch-black night, but I couldn’t see a thing.
  • The dog’s coat was coal-black, with the exception of his bright white paws.

Shades of black

You can find out more about when the adjective black is capitalized at our entry for the word.

White

The color white occurs when all of the visible light is reflected. It is the absence of pigment. Hues of white often include shades of gray, pink, or yellow. One of these shades whose name may seem familiar to use is snow-white, “white as snow.” That’s right, the same as the name of the famous Disney Princess. With the exception of snow-white, it is not typically necessary to use any modifiers with these synonyms for white. For example:

  • The large, white clock loomed from the mantle.
  • The large, eggshell clock loomed from the mantle.
  • It was impossible to get red wine off of the white wedding dress.
  • It was impossible to get red wine off of the ivory wedding dress.

Shades of white

Now you have all of the tools to make your language more colorful than ever. It’s important to match the right shade to the thing you are describing and to avoid using too many adjectives.

One thing to keep in mind when reviewing these different color names is that many of them come from food, flowers, and gemstones that are these colors. If you find yourself reaching for a color synonym and just can’t find one, you can substitute with an object that color instead. Imagine saying “I just bought a spaghetti-colored car.” Anything is possible.

Love these colors? Then take the quiz!

If this list has inspired you to create your own rainbow, then you can review them as a collection any time you want with our color synonyms word list. Or, give your colorful knowledge a challenge by going straight to our positively prismatic color synonyms quiz.

Somewhere over the rainbow there are a myriad of words to describe one! We've got the list right here.

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