multicolored

multicolored — adjective

  • multicoloredpositive
  • more multicoloredcomparative
  • most multicoloredsuperlative

1. containing a combination of several different colors, often creating a bright an

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

containing a combination of several different colors, often creating a bright and varied appearance — for example, a multicolored painting with splashes of red, orange, purple, and blue all on the same canvas.

Example

Eleni wore a multicolored scarf that matched every coat in her wardrobe.

attributive use before a noun

The children painted the wall with bright multicolored patterns of flowers and stars.

Common collocations
  • multicolored + fabric / cloth / thread
  • multicolored + pattern / design / print
  • multicolored + light / lights / glow
  • multicolored + shirt / dress / scarf / umbrella
  • multicolored + flag / banner
  • multicolored + feathers / wings / petals
  • brightly / vividly multicolored
  • beautifully / gaily multicolored
Synonyms
  • colorful

    more common and general; emphasizes brightness and visual appeal rather than the number of distinct colors

  • variegated

    more formal, often used for plants, marble, or surfaces with patches of different colors

  • rainbow

    informal and vivid; suggests a wide range of colors arranged like those of a rainbow

  • many-hued

    less common but similar in meaning; more poetic or literary in tone

Antonyms
  • monochrome

    uses only one color or shades of one color

  • single-colored

    made of just one color; less common in everyday speech

Grammar Patterns

multicolored + noun

be + multicolored

Usage Note

American spelling; in British English the same word is written multicoloured (with u). This adjective is typically used to describe objects, patterns, or designs that contain three or more distinct colors — if something has only two colors it is usually called two-tone or bicolor instead.

Common Mistakes

I bought a multicolored shirt that is only red.
I bought a multicolored shirt with red, blue, and yellow stripes.
multicolored implies more than two distinct colors, not a single color.
The sunset was very multicolored.
The sunset was very colorful.
for natural scenes with gradual color changes, colorful sounds more natural than multicolored.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe the presence of more than one color, but they differ in scope and tone. Colorful is the most common and general term — it focuses on brightness and visual appeal and can apply to anything from a painting to a personality, whereas multicolored (and its shorter form multicolor) simply states that several distinct colors are present. Variegated is a more formal word often used in gardening (variegated leaves) or describing stone with mixed colors (variegated marble). Rainbow is informal and suggests a full spectrum of bright colors arranged in a band, like the natural rainbow. Use colorful for lively descriptions, multicolored for factual accounts of many colors, variegated in specialized or formal contexts, and rainbow for vivid, playful images. For example: 'The children's multicolored ball had red, blue, green, and yellow stripes.' But: 'She gave a colorful account of her trip.'

colorful ↗variegated ↗rainbow ↗multicolor

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Multicolored is a compound formed from the prefix multi- (from Latin multus meaning 'many' or 'much') and colored (from Latin color, meaning 'tint' or 'hue'). The prefix multi- has been used in English since the 15th century to form words meaning 'many' or 'multiple', while colored entered Middle English via Old French in the 13th century. The combined form multicolored first appeared in English in the mid-19th century, around the 1850s, as a straightforward descriptive term. The British variant multicoloured follows the same pattern with the u retained from French couleur.