coloration

American  

[kuhl-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˌkʌl əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. appearance with regard to color arrangement or use of colors; coloring.

   the bold coloration of some birds.

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coloration British  

/ ˌkʌləˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. arrangement of colour and tones; colouring

2. the colouring or markings of insects, birds, etc See also apatetic aposematic cryptic

3. unwanted extraneous variations in the frequency response of a loudspeaker or listening environment

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Other Word Forms

• colorational adjective
• colorationally adverb
• decoloration noun
• overcoloration noun
• precoloration noun
• recoloration noun
• transcoloration noun

Etymology

Origin of coloration

First recorded in 1605–15; color + -ation

Example Sentences

These fossils are exceptionally rare because they preserved not only the feathers but also their original coloration, thanks to unique fossilization conditions in the region.

From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026

And yet atollas gain their reddish coloration from pigments called porphyrins, which don’t absorb blue light all that well and which, if exposed to bright light, emit toxins.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Not done waxing poetic about the eyes on the veritable Redford of retrievers, Leonberg also pointed out another benefit of his dog’s particular coloration.

From Salon • Oct. 3, 2025

She selects for strong coloration, friendliness, and slower growth, “because people love them small,” she explained.

From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025

The houses, painted blue, then painted red, had ended up with an indefinable coloration.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• glow
• hue
• intensity
• paint