Definitions
01the colour
A1 · Beginner Uncountable noun
n. a colour that you get by mixing red and blue together.
n. a secondary colour located between red and blue on the spectrum, often associated with royalty or luxury.
“She chose a deep purple for the bedroom walls to make the room feel cozy.”
“The artist experimented with various shades of purple, blending ultramarine and crimson to achieve the perfect royal hue for the velvet cloak.”
02having the colour purple
A1 · Beginner
adj. having the colour of red and blue mixed together.
adj. possessing a purple hue or tint.
“The garden was full of beautiful purple flowers in the springtime.”
“The twilight sky turned a bruised purple as the storm clouds gathered over the horizon.”
03ornate writing
C1 · Advanced Literature Academic
adj. writing that is too fancy or uses too many complicated words.
adj. referring to prose that is excessively ornate, sentimental, or flowery, often to the point of being distracting.
“The critic said the novel was hard to read because of its purple prose.”
“The editor suggested cutting several paragraphs of purple prose, arguing that the over-elaborate descriptions slowed the narrative pace significantly.”
Usage
Almost exclusively used in the fixed phrase 'purple prose'.
04politically mixed
B2 · Upper Intermediate American English
adj. in the US, a place where voters are almost equally split between Democrats and Republicans.
adj. describing a geographic area or demographic where political support is divided between the 'blue' Democratic and 'red' Republican parties.
“The candidates spent a lot of money on ads in purple states before the election.”
“Strategists focused their efforts on the purple suburbs, knowing that these swing voters would ultimately determine the outcome of the national election.”
Synonyms
05imperial power
C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Literary · Formal
n. the power or position of an emperor or king.
n. the rank or office of an emperor, historically derived from the Tyrian purple robes worn by Roman leaders.
“The young prince was born to the purple and expected to rule one day.”
“Having been born to the purple, the emperor struggled to understand the daily hardships faced by his subjects in the provinces.”
Usage
Commonly found in the idiom 'born to the purple'.
Synonyms
06to turn purple
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to become purple in colour.
v. to become purple or to cause something to take on a purple tint.
“His face began to purple with anger as he listened to the news.”
“The mountains began to purple as the sun dipped below the ridge, casting long shadows across the valley floor.”
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“In the past, purple dye was expensive because it was very difficult to produce, and it became the colour worn by royalty in many Western countries.” “Tyrian purple could be produced from the secretions of three species of sea snail, each of which made a different colour: *Hexaplex trunculus *(bluish purple), *Bolinus brandaris* (reddish purple), and *Stramonita haemastoma *(red).” “The colour purple is often associated with IWD as it signifies 'justice and dignity'.” Etymology
From Middle English purple, purpel, from Old English purpul (“purple”, adjective), taken from Old English purpure (“purple colour”, noun), from Latin purpura (“purple dye, shellfish”), from Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphúra, “purple-fish”), perhaps of Semitic origin. Doublet of purpura and purpure. The sense of "imperial power" is from the wearing of the color purple by emperors and kings.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Idioms
Stories
Empire & the Arena · See all Roman origin
Emperors, spectacle, and the machinery of keeping a city entertained.
bread and circuses — Food and entertainment handed out by those in power to keep the public quiet.
circus — a show with performers like clowns and acrobats, or a place where many streets meet; it can also describe a very busy or chaotic situation.
a Roman holiday — Enjoyment taken from watching somebody else suffer.
fiddle while Rome burns — To busy yourself with trivia while a disaster you could be addressing unfolds.
Triumph — a great victory or a very successful result. You use this word when someone wins something difficult or achieves a big goal.
Laurel — an evergreen tree with shiny leaves that people used to make crowns for winners in ancient times. Today, it is often used to talk about honor or success.
In Literature
Original artwork created for englishreference.com.
The Color Purple · 1982-01-01 · Epistolary novel, feminist novel
- Author:
- Alice Walker
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows the life of Celie, an African American woman living in the rural South during the early 20th century. The title refers to a specific moment in the story where a character notes that God provided the beautiful color in nature for people to notice and appreciate. Through this imagery, the book explores themes of hope, divinity, and the beauty found in everyday existence.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/purple
「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0