pastel

¹ American  

[pa-stel, pas-tl] / pæˈstɛl, ˈpæs tl /

noun

1. a color having a soft, subdued shade.

2. a kind of dried paste made of pigments ground with chalk and compounded with gum water.

3. a chalklike crayon made from such paste.

4. the art of drawing with such crayons.

5. a drawing so made.

6. a short, light prose study or sketch.

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adjective

1. having a soft, subdued shade.

2. drawn with pastels.

   a pastel portrait.

pastel ² American  

[pas-tel] / ˈpæs tɛl /

noun

1. the woad plant.

2. the dye made from it.

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pastel British  

/ pæˈstɛl, ˈpæstəl /

noun

1. 1. a substance made of ground pigment bound with gum, used for making sticks for drawing

   2. a crayon of this

   3. a drawing done in such crayons

2. the medium or technique of pastel drawing

3. a pale delicate colour

4. a light prose work, esp a poetic one

5. another name for woad

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adjective

1. (of a colour) pale; delicate

   pastel blue

Other Word Forms

• pastelist noun

Etymology

Origin of pastel¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from French, from Italian pastello, from Late Latin pastellus, variant of Latin pastillus pastille

Origin of pastel²

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French pastel “woad,” from Provençal, from Medieval Latin pastellum (neuter) “woad” (originally “woad paste”), for Late Latin pastellus (masculine), diminutive of pasta paste

Example Sentences

I’m told linen suits will be coming in soon in the pastel colors I’m looking for.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Throughout the novel - the cover of which is pastel pink with the title spelled out in children's alphabet blocks - the protagonist uses child-like language, wears children's clothing, and engages in child-like behaviour.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

I first encountered Louisa May Alcott in an abridged children’s edition of “Little Women” that was brimming with pastel illustrations and tidy moral lessons.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

His student competition pictures of the 1770s are rendered in the painterly technique and pastel colors associated with the Rococo style of François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Three springy steps down from the risers — girls in pastel dresses screaming, the music director lunging — a leap from the stage, out the side door and into the starry, sweet, onion-grass-smelling night.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• delicate