colour-blind

IPA/ˈkʌlə blaɪnd/
IPA/ˈkʌlər blaɪnd/

colour-blind — adjective

1. Unable to tell some colours apart, most often red from green.

1.形容詞B2
釋義

Unable to tell some colours apart, most often red from green.

例句

Aoi is colour-blind and often mixes up red and green socks.

collocation: mixes up red and green

The museum added symbols because some visitors are colour-blind.

pattern: be + colour-blind

同義詞
  • color-blind

    American spelling of the same adjective.

  • colour-deficient

    More technical and less common; often used in medical or design contexts.

文法句型

be + colour-blind

colour-blind + noun

用法筆記

Usually describes a person, their vision, or an activity affected by colour vision. Unlike sense 2 (NOT RACE-BASED), this meaning is about seeing colour differences, not social fairness.

常見錯誤

❌My grandfather has colour-blind.
✅My grandfather is colour-blind.
💡Use the adjective after 'be', not after 'have'.
❌I am colour blindness, so these cables look the same.
✅I am colour-blind, so these cables look the same.
💡'Colour blindness' is the noun; 'colour-blind' is the adjective.

2. Making choices about people without letting race affect the decision.

2.形容詞B2
釋義

Making choices about people without letting race affect the decision.

例句

Padma wants a colour-blind admissions system that judges grades, not skin colour.

pattern: colour-blind + admissions system

Christopher argued that housing policies should be colour-blind for every family.

同義詞
  • race-neutral

    More technical and often used for policies, rules, or legal arguments.

  • unbiased

    Broader term for fairness; it does not specifically focus on racial treatment.

反義詞

文法句型

be + colour-blind

colour-blind + policy/system/process

用法筆記

Usually describes policies, admissions, hiring, or other formal decisions rather than a person's feelings. Unlike sense 1 (CANNOT TELL COLOURS), it is a figurative use about racial treatment.

常見錯誤

❌The firm is colour-blind, so nobody notices the wall paint.
✅The firm says its hiring process is colour-blind.
💡Here the word describes fair treatment across racial groups, not literal seeing.
❌Our principal is colour-blind to messy homework.
✅Our principal tries to stay colour-blind when choosing student leaders.
💡This sense is about race-based decisions, not ignoring unrelated problems.