pastel
[adjective]
Synonyms: pale, delicate, light, muted, soft

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English Thesaurus: colour, shade, hue, tint, tone, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. pas‧tel¹ /ˈpæstl $ pæˈstel/ noun
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: Italian pastello, from Late Latin pasta; ⇒ paste¹]

1.
a) [uncountable and countable] a small coloured stick for drawing pictures with, made of a substance like chalk
b) [countable] a picture drawn with pastels

2. [countable usually plural] a light colour such as pale blue or pink:
a room beautifully furnished in soft pastels

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. pastel² adjective [only before noun]

1. pastel colours are light and pale:
pastel blue
The walls were painted in pastel shades.

2. drawn using pastels:
a set of four small pastel drawings

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

colour red, blue, yellow etc:
Blue is my favourite colour.
Matisse was famous for his use of colour.
shade a particular type of a colour:
The dress is a light shade of pink.
He uses different shades of green.
hue /hjuː/ literary or technical a particular colour or shade of a colour:
Her face had lost its golden hue.
tint a small amount of a colour in something that is mostly another colour:
He wears sunglasses that have a pinky-orange tint.
tone one of the many different shades of a colour, each slightly darker, lighter, brighter etc than the next:
Carpets in neutral tones give a feeling of space.
dark used about a colour that is strong and fairly close to black:
a dark blue suit
His eyes are dark brown.
deep fairly dark – often used when you think this colour looks attractive:
His eyes were a beautiful deep blue.
deep red lips
rich used about a colour that is fairly dark in a way that gives a pleasant feeling of warmth:
The walls were painted a rich red colour.
light used about a colour that is not dark:
a light blue sweater
His T-shirt was light green.
pale used about a colour that is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.
pastel used about a colour that has a lot of white in it:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
bright used about a colour that is strong and easy to see:
The front door was painted bright red.
brilliant/vivid used about a colour that is very bright:
I looked out at the brilliant blue sky.
vivid red flowers
colourful British English, colorful American English used about things that have many different bright colours:
There were window boxes full of colourful flowers.
multicoloured British English, multicolored American English used about things that have a pattern of many different bright colours:
A multicoloured flag waved in the midday sun.
gaudy/garish too brightly coloured, in a way that is unattractive:
The wallpaper was much too gaudy for me.
a garish orange tie

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

light used about a colour that is not dark:
a light blue sweater
His T-shirt was light green.
pale used about a colour that is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.
pastel used about a colour that has a lot of white in it:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sun:
The curtains were old and faded.
a pair of faded jeans

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pale a pale colour is very light:
He has very pale blue eyes.
a flower with pale green leaves
light a light colour is not dark:
His T-shirt was light green.
a light blue sweater
pastel pastel colours have a lot of white in them:
The girls wore pastel pink sundresses.
faded light in colour because of being washed many times or affected by the sun:
The curtains were old and faded.
a pair of faded jeans
soft used about a colour that is light in a way that is attractive because it is not too obvious:
She wears soft colours such as cream, which match her complexion.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲