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View synonyms for rainbow

rainbow

[ reyn-boh ]

noun

  1. a bow or arc of prismatic colors appearing in the heavens opposite the sun and caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of rain. Compare primary rainbow, secondary rainbow.
  2. a similar bow of colors, especially one appearing in the spray of a waterfall or fountain.
  3. any brightly multicolored arrangement or display.
  4. a wide variety or range; gamut.
  5. a visionary goal:

    He pursued the rainbow of a singing career for years before becoming a success.



adjective

  1. having a diverse membership; including representatives from different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, etc.: LGBTQ Pride month celebrates all of the rainbow community.

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously described postapartheid South Africa as a rainbow nation.

    LGBTQ Pride month celebrates all of the rainbow community.

    Candidates are appealing to a rainbow coalition of minority voters.

rainbow

1

/ ˈreɪnˌbəʊ /

noun

  1. a bow-shaped display in the sky of the colours of the spectrum, caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays through rain or mist
    1. any similar display of bright colours
    2. ( as modifier )

      a rainbow pattern

  2. an illusory hope

    to chase rainbows

  3. modifier of or relating to a political grouping together by several minorities, esp of different races

    the rainbow coalition

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


Rainbow

2

/ ˈreɪnˌbəʊ /

noun

  1. a member of the Rainbow Guides, the youngest group of girls (aged 5-7 years) in The Guide Association
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rainbow

/ rānbō′ /

  1. An arc-shaped spectrum of color seen in the sky opposite the Sun, especially after rain, caused by the refraction and reflection of sunlight by droplets of water suspended in the air. Secondary rainbows that are larger and paler sometimes appear within the primary arc with the colors reversed (red being inside). These result from two reflections and refractions of a light ray inside a droplet.


rainbow

  1. The colored arch in the sky that is often seen after a rain. The rainbow is formed when water droplets in the air cause the diffraction of sunlight.


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Notes

The colors of the rainbow are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
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Other Words From

  • rain·bow·y rain·bow·like adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rainbow1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English reinbowe, Old English regnboga, rēnboga; cognate with Old Norse regnbogi, German Regenbogen; rain, bow 2
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Example Sentences

In the last several weeks, authorities banned performances by China’s most famous transgender celebrity, Jin Xing, which some suspected was due to her featuring a rainbow flag in a previous show.

In December, Li started a Xiaohongshu account marketing herself as a “Rainbow Lawyer.”

Articles about LGBTQ+ issues, which reached an annual peak of 867 in 2015, fell to 240 last year, according to the China Rainbow Media Awards, an advocacy group.

“I’m not sure what color to wear,” he says, nodding toward a rainbow of Calvin Klein boxer-briefs arrayed on a countertop.

On that day in 2008, I took out a rainbow flag I had bought and hung it from the roof out front.

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