lightfast

light·fast
L1I1G2H4T1F4A1S1T1
US/ˈlaɪtfæst/

adjective

Resistant to fading.

“Verdigris is lightfast in oil paint, as numerous examples of fifteenth-century paintings show.”

RareScrabble 16

Meanings

adjectivelightfast (comparative more lightfast, superlative most lightfast)

comparative more lightfast · superlative most lightfast

  1. Resistant to fading.

    Verdigris is lightfast in oil paint, as numerous examples of fifteenth-century paintings show.

    3 more examples

    Some ink-and-paper combinations are more lightfast than others, and the resulting prints are more fade-resistant.

    2004, Peter K. Burian, Masteringdigital Photography and Imaging, page 75

    Tara, a gallotannin, is often quoted as being the most lightfast vegetable tannin and makes very pale coloured leather.

    2009, Anthony Covington, Tony Covington, Tanning Chemistry: The Science of Leather, page 286

    The blue, or cyan, is the most lightfast ink used in the printing process, so it lasts the longest. That blue, incidentally, is the phthalocyanine blue pigment. You can easily test to determine whether any material is lightfast.

    2010, Sherry Stone Clifton, Anita Marie Giddings, Pastels For Dummies, unnumbered page

    Synonyms: nonfading, unfadeable, colorfast

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveResistant to fading.

Origin

From light + fast. Compare Icelandic litfast (“colourfast”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish valonkestävä
  • valonkestäväresistant to fading
German lichtecht
  • lichtechtresistant to fading
Russian светостойкий, светопрочный
  • светостойкий (svetostojkij)resistant to fading
  • светопрочный (svetopročnyj)resistant to fading
Spanish no desteñible
  • no desteñibleresistant to fading
Ukrainian світлостійки́й
  • світлостійки́й (svitlostijkýj)resistant to fading
Vietnamese bền
  • bềnresistant to fading
Cite this entry
APA

lightfast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lightfast

MLA

“lightfast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lightfast. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lightfast,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lightfast.

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