colorize

C3O1L1O1R1I1Z10E1
UK/ˈkʌ.lə.raɪz/

verb

To add color to.

“The woman colorized her hair.”

Similar
colorcolor incolorisecolourisecolourizecolourcolour in
Opposite
discolor
OriginEnglish color ← Middle English colour ← Anglo-Norman colur →
UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

verbcolorize (third-person singular simple present colorizes, present participle colorizing, simple past and past participle colorized)

present singular third person colorizes · participle present colorizing · participle past colorized · past colorized · alternative uncommon colorise · alternative colourise · alternative British Canada English Oxford colourize

  1. USTo add color to.

    The woman colorized her hair.

    Synonyms: color, color in

  2. USartsTo convert black and white media to color by digital post production (as is often done in digital photography and in video special effects).

    There is a colorized version of Casablanca.

    1 more example

    What we see are beautiful overlapping NASA satellite photographs of the American mainland, […]taken in black and white and then luminously colorized by computer for scientific reasons.

    1988 August 26, Jonathan Rosenbaum, “Looking for America”, in Chicago Reader

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo add color to.

Similar
colorcolor in

antonym(s) of “to change or lose color”

Opposite
discolor

More synonyms by meaning

verbadd color to

Similar
colorcolorisecolourisecolourizecolourcolor incolour in
Broader
changealtermodify
Also see
colorcolor incolourcolour incolourisecolourize

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱélōs
  3. Proto-Italic*kelōs
  4. Old Latincolōs
  5. Latincolor
  6. Old Frenchcolor
  7. Anglo-Normancolur
  8. Middle Englishcolour
  9. Englishcolor
  10. Englishcolorize

From color + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic لَوَّنَ
  • لَوَّنَ (lawwana)to add color to
Finnish värittää, värittää
  • värittääto add color to
  • värittääto convert a black and white media to color
French coloriser, colorier
  • coloriserto add color to
  • colorierto add color to
German kolorieren
  • kolorierento convert a black and white media to color
Italian colorizzare
  • colorizzareto convert a black and white media to color
Polish koloryzować, koloryzować
  • koloryzowaćto add color to
  • koloryzowaćto convert a black and white media to color
Swedish färga, färglägga
  • färgato add color to
  • färgläggato add color to
  • färgläggato convert a black and white media to color
Cite this entry
APA

colorize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colorize

MLA

“colorize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colorize. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “colorize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colorize.

Source: colorize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.