decolorize

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UK/diːˈkʌləɹaɪz/UK/diːˈkʊləɹaɪz/

verb

To remove the color from.

Similar
bleachbleach outdecolordecolourdecolourizedecolorisedecolourisediscolorize
Scrabble 22
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Meanings

verbdecolorize (third-person singular simple present decolorizes, present participle decolorizing, simple past and past participle decolorized)

present singular third person decolorizes · participle present decolorizing · participle past decolorized · past decolorized · alternative decolourise · alternative decolourize · alternative decolorise

  1. UStransitiveTo remove the color from.
  2. USintransitiveTo lose one’s color.

    According to Rühm fresh milk remains blue for 12 hours or more, and infected milk decolorizes in less than one hour.

    1912 November, Edwin Henry Schorer, “Experimental Studies on Milk”, in Ludvig Hektoen, Edwin O. Jordan, editors, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, volume II, number 3, page 331

Synonyms & antonyms

verbcause to become white or lighter in color

Similar
bleachbleach outdecolordecolourdecolourizedecolorisedecolourisediscolorizediscolourisediscolorise
Broader
discolor
Also see
bleachdecolourdecolourize

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From de- + color + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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