colored

/ˈkʌləɹd/

//ˈkʌləɹd// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"colored" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“colored” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,202. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,202
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a color.

Corpus desk

Index EN-colored · colored · English

colored · rank #5,202 · 10 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,202
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coin

Nearest frequency peer: coin (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “colored”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “colored” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

colored vs colors
71% similar
colored vs cooked
71% similar
colored vs cooled
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for colored
PropertyValue
Headwordcolored
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkʌləɹd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,202
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “colored”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).coloredlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “coin” (#5,201), “commentary” (#5,203), “coastal” (#5,200). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “colored” is #5,202. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around colored (IPA /ˈkʌləɹd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #5,202 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for colored, with forms such as "ccolored", "cloored", and "collored". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "colors", "cooked", "cooled", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From color + -ed. The correct English form is colored, spelled C-O-L-O-R-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a color.
  2. 2
    Having a particular color or kind of color.
  3. 3
    Having prominent colors; colorful.
  4. 4
    Biased; pervasively (but potentially subtly) influenced in a particular way.
  5. 5
    Of skin color other than white; in particular, black.
  6. 6
    Belonging to a multiracial ethnic group or category, having ancestry from more than one of the racial groups of Southern Africa (black, white, and Asian). (Under apartheid, used as a metadescription for mixed-race people and peoples such as the Cape Coloureds.)
  7. 7
    Designated for use by colored people (in either the US or South African sense).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how colored appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Wash colored items separately from whites and darks to prevent the colors from bleeding.
  2. The room was red, with a dark-colored rug.

Etymology

From color + -ed.

Synonyms

coloredhued

Antonyms

achromaticcolorless

This word in other languages

coloré(Français)farbig(Deutsch)colorido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccolored
  • cloored
  • collored
  • coloerd
  • colorde
  • coloredd
  • colorred
  • colroed
  • coolred
  • oclored

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of colored - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccolored1cloored2collored1coloerd2colorde2coloredd1colorred1colroed2
Edit distance from "colored"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "colored"?
"colored" is spelled C-O-L-O-R-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌləɹd/.
What does "colored" mean?
As an adjective, "colored" means: Having a color.
What words are commonly confused with "colored"?
"colored" is commonly confused with "colors", "cooked", "cooled". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "colored"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colored" is /ˈkʌləɹd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "colored"?
From color + -ed. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "colored", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

coastal#5,200customs#5,208bottles#5,193destiny#5,211

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

emotion10 variantsanytime10 variantsfights10 variantswright10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list