Yellow

/ˈjɛl.əʊ/ adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: The color of sunflower petals and lemons; the color obtained by mixing green and red light, or by subtracting blue from white light; the color evoked by light of wavelength around 580 nm; one of the three primary colors in subtractive color systems.
  • Grammar: yellow is listed as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: sensationalistic, acid yellow, afraid, albumen.
  • Useful contrasts: accurate, balanced, blue.
  • Usage evidence: There are several flowers. One is red, another is white, and the others are yellow.

How to use "yellow"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "yellow" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "yellow" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "yellow" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "yellow" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "yellow" is acting as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "sensationalistic" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "yellow", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The color of sunflower petals and lemons; the color obtained by mixing green and red light, or by subtracting blue from white light; the color evoked by light of wavelength around 580 nm; one of the three primary colors in subtractive color systems. countable, uncountable

    "It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw—not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things."

  2. 2
    yellow color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of sunflowers or ripe lemons wordnet
  3. 3
    The middle light in a set of three traffic lights, the lighting of which indicates that drivers should stop short of the intersection if it is safe to do so. US, countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    One of the color balls used in snooker, with a value of 2 points. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    One of two groups of object balls, or a ball from that group, as used in the principally British version of pool that makes use of unnumbered balls (the yellow(s) and red(s)); contrast stripes and solids in the originally American version with numbered balls). countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    A yellow card. countable, uncountable

    "Andrew Surman fired in what proved to be a 37th-minute winner before Forest's Paul Konchesky saw red late on. That second yellow for the loan signing came in stoppage time and did not affect the outcome of a game which Norwich dominated."

  2. 7
    Any of various pierid butterflies of the subfamily Coliadinae, especially the yellow colored species. Compare sulphur. countable, uncountable

    "Several other beautiful butterflies rewarded my search in this place [...] The most abundant butterflies were the whites and yellows (Pieridae), several of which I had already found at Lombock and at Coupang, while others were new to me."

Verb
  1. 1
    To become yellow or yellower. intransitive

    "Then suddenly, with the least warning, the sky yellows and the Chergui blows in from the Sahara, stinging the eyes and choking with its sandy, sticky breath."

  2. 2
    turn yellow wordnet
  3. 3
    To make (something) yellow or yellower. transitive
  4. 4
    To promote (a captain) to flag rank without command of a squadron, ending his career; to make him a yellow admiral. historical, transitive

    "Then they might yellow him if they wanted to; he would be satisfied with Admiral’s rank."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a yellow hue.

    "He had a yellow laptop in his bag."

  2. 2
    Lacking courage. informal

    "What you should be is not yellow at all. If you're supposed to sock somebody in the jaw, and you sort of feel like doing it, you should do it."

  3. 3
    Characterized by sensationalism, lurid content, and doubtful accuracy.

    "The denizens of the gossipy world of the pink press, purple prose and yellow tabloids are shivering over disputed photographs of Princess Caroline of Monaco."

  4. 4
    Of a hue attributed to Far East Asians, especially the Chinese. derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur

    "They were all tall and all handsome, though they varied in their degree of darkness of skin, some being as dark as Mahomed, and some as yellow as a Chinese."

  5. 5
    Far East Asian (relating to Asian people). derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur

    "Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Of mixed Aboriginal and Caucasian ancestry. Australia, dated, offensive

    ""Eh, Oscar—you hear about your yeller nephew?"."

  2. 7
    Synonym of high yellow. US, dated

    "Charley threw her over for a yellow gal named Nancy: he never forgave Vashti for the vanishing from his life of a menace that had come to mean more to him than Vashti herself."

  3. 8
    Related to the Liberal Democrats. UK

    "yellow constituencies"

  4. 9
    Related to the Free Democratic Party, a political party in Germany.

    "the black–yellow coalition"

Adjective
  1. 1
    easily frightened wordnet
  2. 2
    of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk wordnet
  3. 3
    affected by jaundice which causes yellowing of skin etc wordnet
  4. 4
    cowardly or treacherous wordnet
  5. 5
    changed to a yellowish color by age wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    typical of tabloids wordnet
Intj
  1. 1
    Used to indicate that the speaker needs a temporary break from current sexual activity.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Example

"There are several flowers. One is red, another is white, and the others are yellow."

Common questions

What does "yellow" mean?

The color of sunflower petals and lemons; the color obtained by mixing green and red light, or by subtracting blue from white light; the color evoked by light of wavelength around 580 nm; one of the three primary colors in subtractive color systems.

What is a synonym for "yellow"?

Common synonyms include: sensationalistic, acid yellow, afraid, albumen, alcohol, amarillo.

How do you use "yellow" in a sentence?

There are several flowers. One is red, another is white, and the others are yellow.

How do you pronounce "yellow"?

Pronounced /ˈjɛl.əʊ/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English yelwe, yelou, from Old English ġeolwe, oblique form of Old English ġeolu, from Proto-West Germanic *gelu, from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃wós, from *ǵʰelh₃- (“gleam, yellow”). Cognate with Scots yella (“yellow”), North Frisian gööl, güül (“yellow”), Saterland Frisian jeel (“yellow”), West Frisian giel (“yellow”), Cimbrian gel, ghéel (“yellow”), Dutch geel (“yellow”), Dutch Low Saxon gael, gel (“yellow”), German gelb, gehl (“yellow”), German Low German gel, geel, gęl, gäl (“yellow”), Luxembourgish giel (“yellow”), Vilamovian gaoł (“yellow”), Yiddish געל (gel), געלב (gelb, “yellow”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish gul (“yellow”), Faroese and Icelandic gulur (“yellow”). Compare also Welsh gell (“bay, tawny”), Latin helvus (“dull yellow”), Irish geal (“white, bright”), Italian giallo (“yellow”) Lithuanian žalias (“green”), Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “light green”), Persian زرد (zard, “yellow”), Sanskrit हरि (hari, “greenish-yellow”), Russian жёлтый (žóltyj, “yellow”), Russian зелёный (zeljónyj, “green”). The verb is from Middle English yelwen, ȝalowen, ȝolewen, from Old English ġeolwian, from the adjective.

Etymology 2

From the colors used on traffic lights; yellow being the one for warning vehicles to stop soon.

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