colourfulcol‧our‧ful British English, colorful American English /ˈkʌləfəl $ -lər-/ ●●○ adjective 
a colourful display of flowers colorful costumes► see thesaurus at colour2interesting, exciting, and full of varietycolourful history/past/career/life Charlie Chaplin had a long and colorful career.colourful character/figure (=someone who is interesting and unusual)3colourful language, speech etc uses a lot of swearing—colourfully adverb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Coleman's colourful life is recorded in his autobiography Reflections of a Racing Driver.
- Riva is a welcoming town with a colourful history.
- That's a really colourful tie you're wearing.
- The garden was full of colourful and fascinating flowers.
- Throughout his life, O'Connor was a colourful and controversial character.
- Comfortable, colourful and cluttered, everything in the house was used and enjoyed by the Berkeleys, their family and friends.
- Except in the colourful person of the legendary John Winchcombe, the Berkshire woollen industry had little in the way of glamour.
- In summer the gardens would have looked colourful and pretty but somehow in the depths of the Provençal winter they appeared melancholy.
- Textured seats and colourful woven floor matting add to the hot tropical ambiance.
- The marina is a colourful sight and has shops and restaurants.
- The Secrets of Santa is a magical, colourful book which all Brownies will love reading again and again.
- This month, you look set to be especially colourful if not spectacularly successful.
THESAURUSbright colours
used about a colour that is strong and easy to see: · The front door was painted bright red.
used about a colour that is very bright: · I looked out at the brilliant blue sky.· vivid red flowers
British English, colorful American English used about things that have many different bright colours: · There were window boxes full of colourful flowers.
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.
too brightly coloured, in a way that is unattractive: · The wallpaper was much too gaudy for me.· a garish orange tie
Longman Language Activatorbrightly coloured a bright colour is strong and very easy to notice: · The artist clearly loved bright colours.· If you are cycling at night, always wear something bright.bright blue/red/yellow etc: · The front door was painted bright red.· a bright yellow van
British /colorful American having a lot of different colours, especially bright colours: · The garden was full of colourful and fascinating flowers.· That's a really colourful tie you're wearing.· Stunning tropical fish swim in and out of the colorful rock formations.
: brilliant white/blue/green etc so bright that it almost hurts your eyes to look at it: · a brilliant blue sky· The room was painted a brilliant white.
British /multicolored American having several different colours, especially bright colours: · A giant multicoloured flag waved in the midday sun.· A group of women sat around talking, their multi-coloured dresses radiant.
something that is gaudy has too many different colours or is too brightly coloured, with the result that it looks cheap and in bad taste: · I didn't like the decorations - they looked rather gaudy.· She smelled of cheap perfume and wore gaudy clothing and fake costume jewellery.
too brightly coloured in a way that is unpleasant to look at: · Her hair had been dyed a garish shade of red.· The streets are lined with garish neon signs.· The traditional designs have been replaced by much more garish colours.
vibrant colours are very bright and strong - used when you like these colours very much: · the vibrant reds and oranges of the leaves in autumn· The streets of the capital are vibrant with color.
lurid colours are too bright and look very unattractive - used when you dislike these colours: · The carpets were a lurid shade of green.
words for describing an interesting person · The party was full of artists, actors, and other interesting people.· Lawyers get to represent lots of clients in their careers, but few as interesting as a president.find somebody interesting (=think someone is interesting) · She found him interesting, attractive even.
extremely interesting and often attractive: · Nathan Bryce was the most handsome, fascinating, and ruthless man she had ever met.· It was easy to understand why Denise found Chris so fascinating.
British /colorful American a colourful person is interesting and often amusing because they are very unusual, especially because they behave in a way that does not follow society's usual rules: · The late Bob Johnston was one of the city's most colorful, beloved characters.· Throughout his life, O'Connor was a colourful and controversial character.
someone who other people like and think is interesting, because they behave in an unusual and amusing way: · She's quite a character -- people find her rather shocking, but I like her.· James is a real character, completely unpredictable but very funny.
an interesting period of time an interesting period of time has a lot of interesting , unusual, or exciting things happening during it: · Today's been really interesting, I enjoyed it very much.· At the age of 80 she still leads a very busy and interesting life.· The Renaissance must have been a very interesting time to have been alive.
full of interesting or important events: · The poet Arthur Rimbaud led a short but extremely eventful life.· It has been an eventful day in politics -- two ministers have resigned and the Prime Minister has called an election.
British /colorful American containing a lot of unusual, exciting, and sometimes immoral events or behaviour: · There are many chapters in Wilkins' long, colorful life, including the time he spent in prison.· Coleman's colourful life is recorded in his autobiography, Reflections of a Racing Driver.· Riva is a welcoming town with a colourful history.
spoken say this about a situation, film, story etc in which a lot of things happen, and you do not have time to be bored: · When you have three young children to look after there's never a dull moment.· There's never a dull moment in our house, especially as there are ten of us living here.· There's never a dull moment in the entire film, and Pierce Brosnan is superb in the James Bond role.
rude and offensive words formal language that most people think is offensive: · Even very young children are using foul language at school.· The computer chip allows parents to block programs containing violence, sex, or bad language.
language that most people think is offensive - used especially to warn people that there may be offensive words used in a film or television programme: · The following programme contains strong language, and some viewers may find it offensive.· The film has lots of violence, scenes of drug-taking, and strong language.
language that uses a lot of swear words - use this in humorous contexts: · The colourful language of some of the characters may make it unsuitable for younger viewers.
a word that most people think is extremely offensive, especially one that is connected with sex or the sexual organs: · Rap songs are full of four-letter words.· It's a family show, with no four-letter words.
a rude and offensive word that people use especially when they are angry: · He wasn't the type of man to use swear words.· We had to take all the swear words out of the play.
a word or expression, especially about sex, that most people think is extremely offensive: · Someone had written obscenities all over the classroom wall.· Rick burst into the apartment, drunk and shouting obscenities.
remarks, words etc that are unprintable are too offensive to appear in a newspaper, magazine, or book: · Most of what she said in the interview was unprintable.· Chief McNally admits he's been called many things, some of them unprintable.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Charlie Chaplin had a long and colorful career.
Charlie Chaplin had a long and colorful career. (=someone who is interesting and unusual)
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES (=interesting or rude)· His conversation is full of colourful phrases.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· I look forward to your advice in due course and hopefully a more colourful life.· Innumerable past accounts give a more colourful version of this fact.· Certainly they are often far more colourful than their night-flying cousins.· Think of that story getting passed down the generations, each time they handed it on it became more colourful and exaggerated.· Without actually wrecking the trilogy, Foundation's Edge is vaguely anticlimactic. 010: Odyssey Two is more colourful.
· Generally active by day, wrasse are some of the most colourful and strikingly marked fish.· The most colourful character amongst these was William Riley, who had a varied and successful operational career.· Unfortunately they are not all able to survive in an aquarium and some of the most colourful varieties are the most delicate.· They are two of the most colourful and exciting figures in the whole of medieval history.· Mr Heseltine was one of the most colourful political figures of the past 30 years.· Barry Wood reports Pam Shriver has always been one of the most colourful tennis professionals.· Some of the most colourful butterflies never need to hide because they are poisonous.· And millions of pounds are laid in bets over the three days of the most colourful event in the racing calendar.
NOUN· The most colourful character amongst these was William Riley, who had a varied and successful operational career.· The result has all the colourful character of other hand dragged kitchens, but with a very real and visible bonus.· Mozart's librettist for Figaro was himself a controversial and colourful character.· These fish have provided me with a tank full of hardy, clever, colourful characters that are easy to care.
· The hotel's extensive grounds include colourful gardens, a small swimming pool, and a short tennis court.· There is a small but colourful garden with a large patio.· There is a large colourful garden.
· It has a rich and colourful history, which can still be traced in its fortifications, towers and old city gates.· It is a town of simple charms and colourful history, where winding narrow streets and alleyways present surprises at every turn.
WORD FAMILYnouncolour/colorcolouring/coloringcolorationcolourant/colorantcolourist/coloristadjectivecoloured/coloreddiscoloured/discoloredcolourful/colorful ≠ colourless/colorlessmulticolouredcolour/colorverbcolour/coloradverbcolourfully/colorfully ≠ colourlessly/colorlessly
1having bright colours or a lot of different colours: a colourful display of flowers colorful costumes► see thesaurus at colour2interesting, exciting, and full of varietycolourful history/past/career/life Charlie Chaplin had a long and colorful career.colourful character/figure (=someone who is interesting and unusual)3colourful language, speech etc uses a lot of swearing—colourfully adverb