Words to describe light and color
Light, shadow, and every color Roget had a name for.
About this list
Light, darkness, and dimness come first, then transparency and the colors one by one. Some color words may have shifted since 1911, so look up an unfamiliar one before trusting it.
Light
Nouns
- day
- light
- light of day
- black and white
- play of light
- ray
- stream
- light of heaven
- flash
- photography
- glory
- flood of light
- radiation
- lightning
- reflection
- sunshine
- beam
- light and shade
- flame
- streak
- spark
- pencil
- glow
- sunlight
- daylight
- clear obscure
- flush
- broad daylight
- halo
- aurora
- blaze
- moonlight
- optics
- brightness
- sparkling
- breadth
- gloss
- levin †
- illumination
- sheen
- dispersion
- starlight
- irradiation
- splendor
- radiance
- shimmer
- gleam
- luster
Verbs
- light
- light up
- clear up
- give out a light
- throw light in
- cast light in
- be bright
- strike a light
- throw light upon
- cast light upon
- hang out a light
- flash
- reflect light
- shine
- shed light upon
- beam
- shine upon
- glow
- kindle
- shoot out beams
- blaze
- flare
- flare up
- glitter
- levin †
- sparkle
- glare
- lighten
- illuminate
- brighten
- enlighten
- twinkle
- glimmer
- flicker
- dazzle
- shimmer
- gleam
- radiate
- shed luster upon
- daze
- glisten
- irradiate
- bedazzle
- illumine
Adjectives
- light
- clear
- light as day
- bright
- bright as day
- bright as silver
- graphic
- sunny
- tide
- shining
- shiny
- splendid
- vivid
- in a blaze
- radiant
- blazing
- orient
- glossy
- meridian
- sheen
- lucid
- luminous
- ablaze
- photogenic
- glassy
- meteoric
- resplendent
- lustrous
- garish
- burnished
- lucent
- cloudless
- phosphorescent
- aglow
- bright as noonday
- light as noonday
- noonday
- actinic
- unclouded
- lambent
- effulgent
Darkness
Nouns
- night
- black body
- dead of night
- dark matter
- dark star
- cold dark matter
- black hole
- shadow
- midnight
- absence of light
- darkness
- shade
- darkness visible
- distribution of shade
- blind man's holiday
- Egyptian darkness
- ancestors of Nature
- gathering of the clouds
- eclipse
- total eclipse
- extinction
- eldest Night and Chaos
- the jaws of darkness
- dusk
- gloom
- shading
- obscurity
- palpable obscure
- blackness
- umbra
- witching hour of night
- witching time of night
- penumbra
- murk
- chiaroscuro
- occultation
- Stygian darkness
- Cimmerian darkness †
- obscuration
Verbs
- put out
- lower
- be dark
- doubt
- blow out
- turn out the lights
- turn off the lights
- tone down
- switch off the lights
- spread a shadow
- throw a shadow
- cast a shadow
- shade
- throw a shade
- cast a shade
- spread a shade
- obscure
- eclipse
- dim
- dim the lights
- cast a gloom
- cast gloom
- spread gloom
- throw gloom
- snuff out
- overcast
- extinguish
- darken
- overshadow
- douse the lights
- obfuscate
Adjectives
- black
- dark
- pitch black
- dark as pitch
- pitch dark
- dark as a pit
- obscure
- shady
- cloudy
- gloomy
- nocturnal
- darkened
- murky
- overcast
- somber
- dusky
- dingy
- lurid
- sunless
- benighted
- darkling
- pitchy
- lightless
- darksome †
Adverbs
Dimness
Nouns
- break of day
- half light
- cloud
- darkness
- dawn
- partial shadow
- shadow of a shade
- shades of evening
- twilight
- eclipse
- aurora
- partial eclipse
- moonlight
- dusk
- starlight
- glimmer
- daybreak
- candlelight
- moonshine
- demi-jour
- owl's light
- moonbeam
- firelight
- paleness
- dimness
Verbs
- lower
- tone down
- pale
- fade
- obscure
- be dim
- dim
- grow dim
- render dim
- loom
- twinkle
- glimmer
- flicker
- darken
- pale its ineffectual fire
Adjectives
Shade
Nouns
- screen
- blind
- cloud
- shadow
- mask
- gathering
- of clouds
- shade
- chick
- umbrella
- curtain
- beach umbrella
- mist
- veil
- mantle
- folding umbrella
- shutter
- gauze
- glade
- awning
- parasol
- umbrage
- sunshade
- chador
Verbs
Adjectives
Transparency
Nouns
- water
- glass
- crystal
- transparent medium
- clarity
- transparency
- fluorescence
- lymph
- lucidity
- translucency
- translucence
Verbs
Adjectives
Opacity
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Color
Nouns
- value
- key
- color
- keeping
- local color
- cast
- positive color
- medium
- broken color
- primary color
- paint
- tone
- wash
- pure color
- oil paint
- secondary color
- spectrum
- spectrum analysis
- shade
- glow
- aerial perspective
- dye
- flush
- stain
- coloring
- coloring matter
- tertiary color
- hue
- three primaries
- prism
- pigment
- primitive complementary color
- spectroscopy
- complexion
- tint
- livery
- coloration
- chromatography †
- spectrometer
- tinge
- chromatic dispersion
- tincture
- distemper
- spectrograph
- mordant
- chromatics
- spectroscope
Verbs
Adjectives
Whiteness
Nouns
- paper
- white lead
- white metal
- milk
- snow
- German silver
- pearl white
- lily
- ivory
- chalk
- titanium oxide
- carbonate of lead
- whiteness
- argent
- alabaster
- barium sulphate
Verbs
Adjectives
Blackness
Nouns
- black
- color
- man of color
- dark color
- tone
- darkness
- jet
- coal pitch
- ink
- India ink
- writing ink
- Indian ink
- buck
- printing ink
- ivory black
- crow
- raven
- charcoal
- ebony
- blackness
- coon
- soot
- smut
- sambo
- printer's ink
- chiaroscuro
- sloe
- darkie
- lividity
Verbs
- black
- be black
- dark
- black as November
- black as my hat
- coal-black
- gray
- low in tone
- black as midnight
- black as jet
- jet-black
- black as a shoe
- black as thunder
- obscure
- render black
- of the deepest dye
- low-toned
- ebony
- nocturnal
- murky
- somber
- jetty
- blot
- sable
- darken
- dusky
- dingy
- inky
- denigrate
- sooty
- blotch
- blacken
- ebon
- swarthy
- swart
- Ethiopic
- pitchy
Adverbs
Gray
Nouns
Adjectives
Brown
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Redness
Nouns
- red
- light red
- red lead
- color
- high color
- lake
- rose
- Indian red
- fresh color
- pink
- purple
- flesh color
- red ink
- ruby
- rose du Barry †
- warmth
- rust
- iron mold
- scarlet
- crimson
- blush
- maroon
- Venetian red
- flesh tint
- magenta
- carmine
- redness
- vermilion
- carnation
- madder
- damask
- cinnabar
- gules
- carbuncle
- cochineal
- annatto †
- minium †
Verbs
Adjectives
- red
- hot
- red as fire
- red as blood
- warm
- rose-colored
- burnt
- dust-colored
- brick-colored
- flesh-colored
- cherry-colored
- flame-colored
- salmon-colored
- ruby-colored
- red as a lobster
- peach-colored
- red as scarlet
- Complementary Colors
- reddish
- rosy
- blushing
- ruddy
- foxy
- sanguine
- claret-colored
- lurid
- sorrel
- russet buff
- florid
- rufous
- blowed †
- reddened
- roseate
Greenness
Nouns
- green
- blue and yellow
- emerald
- glaucoma
- vert
- beryl
- absinthe
- aquamarine
- malachite
- greenness
- verdigris
- copperas
- verdure
Adjectives
Yellowness
Nouns
- or
- yellow
- London fog †
- Indian-yellow king's-yellow
- chrome-yellow
- saffron
- Claude tint
- yolk
- topaz
- cadmium-yellow
- jaundice
- crocus
- yellow ocher
- icterus †
Adjectives
Purple
Nouns
Adjectives
Blueness
Nouns
- blue
- bloom
- sapphire
- cobalt
- turquoise
- indigo
- Prussian blue
- garter-blue
- lapis lazuli
- ultramarine
- cyanogen
- bice †
- blueness
- syenite blue †
Adjectives
Orange
Nouns
- or
- gold
- orange
- red and yellow
- flame color
- cardinal bird
- cardinal flower
- cadmium
- cardinal lobelia
- ocher
- cardinal grosbeak
Verbs
Adjectives
Variegation
Nouns
- check
- colors
- play of colors
- spectrum
- mother-of-pearl
- rainbow
- marble
- butterfly
- iris
- leopard
- mosaic
- peacock
- zebra
- plaid
- tortoise shell
- cheetah
- opal
- tulip
- chameleon
- checkers
- patchwork
- mackerel
- mackerel sky
- Joseph's coat
- tartan
- harlequin
- chessboard
- tricolor
- chequers
- ocelot
- polychrome
- iridescence
- striae
- dichroism
- nacre
- tesserae †
- variegation
Verbs
- tattoo
- streak
- dot
- stripe
- sprinkle
- quilt
- braid
- checker
- inlay
- be variegated
- speckle
- embroider
- damascene
- stipple
- chequer
Adjectives
- shot
- listed
- spotted
- many-colored
- party-colored
- pepper and salt
- barred
- PERCEPTIONS OF LIGHT
- mosaic
- divers-colored
- embroidered
- watered
- plaid
- powdered
- studded
- tortoise shell
- gorge de pigeon
- flea-bitten
- motley
- clouded
- pied
- spotty
- pearly
- speckled
- iridescent
- tabby
- mottled
- prismatic
- marbled
- variegated
- many-hued
- grizzled
- tricolor
- dappled
- striated
- freckled
- veined
- flecked
- kaleidoscopic
- bicolor †
- opalescent
- paned
- versicolor †
- piebald
- polychromatic
- opaline †
Sources and licenses
- Categories and period vocabulary from the 1911 edition of Roget's Thesaurus, in the public domain. A dagger (†) marks a word its editors already called obsolete.
- Words are ordered by how often they appear in modern English, measured with wordfreq.