chroma

[ kroh-muh ]

noun

1. the purity of a color, or its freedom from white or gray.
2. intensity of distinctive hue; saturation of a color.

chroma

/ ˈkrəʊmə /

noun

1. the attribute of a colour that enables an observer to judge how much chromatic colour it contains irrespective of achromatic colour present See also saturation
2. (in colour television) the colour component in a composite coded signal

Word History and Origins

Origin of chroma¹

First recorded in 1885–90, chroma is from the Greek word chrôma color

Word History and Origins

Origin of chroma¹

C19: from Greek khrōma colour

Example Sentences

But if there’s a little bit more ambient lighting, colors look washed out, or low in chroma.

From Salon

The Watts Towers aim to split the sky into chroma, spires tiled with rubble nothing less than aspiration.

From Los Angeles Times

Acid-green projected light — known as chroma green, used by film studios for “green screen” effects — bathes the big gallery off the rotunda.

From New York Times

First there was Robert Musil the mechanical engineer, who invented a chroma meter, a device for evaluating color.

From New York Times

In their variety of chroma and brushwork, they vigorously explore different tensions between the flanking planes of color and the tangles of line between them.

From New York Times

Related Words

• acrylic
• color
• cosmetic
• dye
• enamel
• latex
• makeup
• oil
• pigment
• stain
• varnish
• wax