# purple

/ˈpɝpəɫ/ (US) · /pˈɜːpəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/purple
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. the colour

noun · CEFR A1

a colour that you get by mixing red and blue together.

For teachers: 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.

### 2. having the colour purple

adjective · CEFR A1

having the colour of red and blue mixed together.

For teachers: 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.

### 3. ornate writing

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic

writing that is too fancy or uses too many complicated words.

For teachers: 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'.

### 4. politically mixed

adjective · CEFR B2 · American English

in the US, a place where voters are almost equally split between Democrats and Republicans.

For teachers: 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.

### 5. imperial power

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary · Formal

the power or position of an emperor or king.

For teachers: 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'.

### 6. to turn purple

verb · CEFR B2

to become purple in colour.

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- She chose a dark shade of purple for her bedroom walls.
- The sunset turned the clouds a deep shade of purple as the light faded over the mountains.
- In many ancient Mediterranean cultures, the production of purple was a strictly controlled industry because the pigment required thousands of sea snails to create a single garment.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.