colorful
/ˈkʌl.əɹ.fl̩/adjective
colorful is spelled C-O-L-O-R-F-U-L: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, colorful means “Possessing prominent and varied colors” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in colorful?
| Letters | 8: C-O-L-O-R-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is colorful?
Colorful appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce colorful?
- UK /ˈkʌl.ə.fl̩/
- US /ˈkʌl.əɹ.fl̩/
- /ˈkə.lə.fʊl/
Colorful has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Denendaden-colorful.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of colorful
- more colorful comparative
- most colorful superlative
- colourful
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does colorful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
USPossessing prominent and varied colors.
a colourful display of flowers
- 2
USInteresting, multifaceted, energetic, distinctive.
He had a colourful career in the music industry.
- 3
USProfane, obscene, offensive (usually in the phrase colourful language).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Colorful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coloré |
| German | bunt, kunterbunt, farbig, farbenprächtig, farbenfroh, farbenreich |
| Portuguese | colorido |
| Spanish | lleno, de color, lleno de color , florido, colorado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does colorful come from?
From color + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).