hue

noun

ˈhyü How to pronounce hue (audio)
Synonyms of huenext
1
: overall character or appearance to the mind : complexion, aspect
political parties of every hue—Louis Wasserman
2
a
: color
all the hues of the rainbow
b
: gradation of color
the hues and shades of twilight—Colin Clark
c
: the attribute of colors that permits them to be classed as red, yellow, green, blue, or an intermediate between any contiguous pair of these colors
red with an orange hue
compare brightness sense 2, lightness sense 2a, saturation sense 4

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of hue in a Sentence

We decorated the room in hues of blue and green. decorated the room in hues of blue and green
Recent Examples on the Web The flowy style comes in three classic hues, including red, white, and black, and the A-line silhouette feels timeless. —Megan Schaltegger, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024 The collection features reinventions of the brand’s iconic polo shirts, knitwear and varsity jackets, all in hues of red, white and blue. —Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024 Green Goddess Cocktail This green dream of a cocktail uses cucumber, jalapeño, mint and arugula to achieve its vibrant hue and refreshing, herbal flavor. —Anna Luisa Rodriguez, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024 When someone overdoses from fentanyl, breathing slows and their skin often turns a bluish hue. —Mike Baker, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024 In Toronto, actor Mary Elizabeth Winstead slipped into Stine Goya’s pink power suit—a hue that will forever turn heads. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 31 Mar. 2024 The sweetness of the Peeps garnish is cut by the sourness of the drink and the cocktail’s uninhibited pale green hue, from the lime juice, aptly fits Easter’s pastel palette. —Jillian Dara, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024 The display's hues are rich and well saturated, and its fine details are sharp; meanwhile, its viewing angles are wide, and contrast is high. —PCMAG, 27 Mar. 2024 And now a step beyond last year’s color-drenching trend, which saw entire rooms bathed in one hue from top to bottom, comes the exuberance of pattern drenching. —Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hue.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hewe, from Old English hīw; akin to Old Norse hȳ plant down, Goth hiwi form

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hue was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing hue

Dictionary Entries Near hue

Hudson Strait

hue

Hue

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Hue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hue. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

hue

noun
ˈhyü How to pronounce hue (audio)
1
: color sense 1
2
: a particular variety of a color : shade
3
: an aspect of colors that allows them to be identified as red, yellow, green, blue, or something between any two of these colors

Medical Definition

hue

noun
ˈhyü How to pronounce hue (audio)
: the one of the three psychological dimensions of color perception that permits them to be classified as red, yellow, green, blue, or an intermediate between any contiguous pair of these colors and that is correlated with the wavelength or the combination of wavelengths comprising the stimulus compare brightness, saturation sense 4a

Geographical Definition

Hue

geographical name

ˈ(h)wā How to pronounce Hue (audio)
hü-ˈā,
hyü-ˈā
variants or French Hué
city and port in central Vietnam; formerly capital of Annam population 302,983

More from Merriam-Webster on hue

Nglish: Translation of hue for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hue for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hue

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

The Words of the Week - Apr. 12

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels

12 More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...