off-colour

/ˌɒf ˈkʌlə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɔːf ˈkʌlər/ (ame, ipa)

off-colour — 形容詞

1. slightly unwell, or looking as if you are not fully well yet.

1.形容詞C1
釋義

不舒服

有點生病或氣色不佳

slightly unwell, or looking as if you are not fully well yet.

例句

Nkechi looked a little off-colour after skipping breakfast on the train.

Nkechi 在火車上沒吃早餐後，看起來有點不舒服。

look off-colour after + cause

By noon, Henry still felt off-colour and stayed home from work.

到了中午，Henry 還是覺得不舒服，所以請假待在家裡。

feel off-colour + result

同義詞
  • unwell

    neutral and broad, suitable in many situations

  • under the weather

    more informal, often for a brief period of illness

  • peaky

    British and more about looking pale or tired

  • queasy

    more specific, often about feeling sick in the stomach

反義詞
  • well

    in good health

  • fine

    not showing signs of illness

文法句型

look/feel/seem off-colour

用法筆記

Usually follows linking verbs such as 'look,' 'feel,' or 'seem.' It suggests mild, temporary illness rather than a serious medical condition.

常見錯誤

❌I was off-colour for three weeks with pneumonia.
✅I felt off-colour for a day or two.
💡Use it for feeling mildly unwell, not for a long or severe illness.

2. a little crude or likely to offend, usually because it makes sexual jokes or ref

2.形容詞C1
釋義

帶色的

尤指拿性話題開玩笑而略顯粗俗的

a little crude or likely to offend, usually because it makes sexual jokes or references.

例句

Kenji apologized after telling an off-colour joke at the staff dinner.

Kenji 在員工聚餐上講了帶色笑話後道了歉。

off-colour joke

The host ended the call when the guest made off-colour comments on air.

主持人聽到來賓在節目中講出帶色言論後，便結束通話。

off-colour comments

同義詞
  • crude

    broad and common, for language lacking refinement

  • risque

    often lighter in tone, suggesting playful sexual content

  • vulgar

    stronger and wider, covering generally bad taste

  • bawdy

    more literary, especially for openly sexual humour

反義詞
  • clean

    free from sexual or rude content

  • wholesome

    socially acceptable and suitable for everyone

文法句型

off-colour joke

off-colour remark

用法筆記

Most often appears before nouns such as 'joke,' 'remark,' 'humour,' or 'comment.' It refers to crude sexual joking, not to ordinary impoliteness or anger.

常見錯誤

❌The waiter was off-colour because he ignored us.
✅The waiter was rude because he ignored us.
💡This sense is mainly for sexual or crude jokes, not for everyday bad manners.