adj. 1
Biased; pervasively (but potentially subtly) influenced in a particular way.
adj. 2
Having a color.
Wash colored items separately from whites and darks to prevent the colors from bleeding.
adj. 3
Having a particular color or kind of color.
The room was red, with a dark-colored rug.

Related words

Phrases: colored pencil
Other spellings: coloured UK

Choose the right word

Colored or Color?

To color is to impart a color desired or undesired, temporary or permanent, or, in the intransitive use, to assume a color in any way; as, he colored with shame and vexation.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

slanted The rooms had slanted ceilings.
dyed Layla went to the hair salon to get her hair dyed.
bleached I like the way Tom looks with his hair bleached.
grey My friend disappeared like a grey mule in the fog.
artificial You can drink the juice since it's not artificial.
tinted Tom looks at the world through rose-tinted glasses.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
colored		steady
slanted		rising
dyed		steady
bleached		falling
grey		steady
artificial		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: grey¹, gray¹, dyed¹, hued¹
5 letters: black¹, negro²
6 letters: biased², unreal², tinted²
7 letters: partial², stained¹, slanted²
8 letters: colorful³, bleached¹, specious²
9 letters: plausible³, colourful
10 letters: artificial⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (negro² = 2 syllables).