A watercolour is a picture painted with water-based paints.
Source: tatoeba (6190895)
Watercolour
/ˈwɔ.tɜˌkʌ.lɜ/
Synonyms for "watercolour" (4 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (1)
Noun(1 words)
Strong matches (1)
Noun(1 words)
Related words (2)
Noun(1 words)
Verb(1 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolor.
- Sentence evidence is available for watercolour, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "watercolour".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "watercolour"
Keep "watercolour" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "watercolour" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "watercolour", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "watercolour" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
Translations
103 translations across 54 languages.
Afrikaans
3 entries- akwarel noun (painting)
- waterverf noun (pigment)
- waterverfskildery noun (painting)
Armenian
2 entries- ջրաներկ noun (pigment)
- ջրանկար noun (painting)
Bengali
1 entries- জলরঙ noun (pigment)
Bulgarian
2 entries- акварел noun (pigment)
- акварел noun (painting)
Burmese
1 entries- ရေဆေး noun (pigment)
Catalan
2 entries- aquarel·la noun (pigment)
- aquarel·la noun (painting)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎠᎹ ᏗᏑᏫᏍᏗ noun (pigment)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 水彩 noun (pigment)
- 水彩畫 /水彩画 noun (painting)
Czech
1 entries- akvarel noun (painting)
Danish
4 entries- akvarel noun (pigment)
- akvarel noun (painting)
- akvarelfarve noun (pigment)
- vandfarve noun (pigment)
Dutch
3 entries- aquarel noun (pigment)
- aquarel noun (painting)
- waterverf noun (pigment)
Esperanto
2 entries- akvarelo noun (pigment)
- akvofarbo noun (pigment)
Estonian
3 entries- akvarell noun (pigment)
- akvarell noun (painting)
- vesivärv noun (pigment)
Finnish
4 entries- akvarelli noun (painting)
- akvarelliväri noun (pigment)
- vesiväri noun (pigment)
- vesivärimaalaus noun (painting)
French
2 entries- aquarelle noun (pigment)
- aquarelle noun (painting)
Friulian
1 entries- acuarel noun (pigment)
Georgian
1 entries- აკვარელი noun (pigment)
German
4 entries- Aquarell noun (painting)
- Aquarellbild noun (painting)
- Wasserfarbe noun (pigment)
- Wasserfarbenbild noun (painting)
Greek
2 entries- νερομπογιά noun (pigment)
- υδατογραφία noun (painting)
Gujarati
1 entries- જલરંગ noun (pigment)
Hindi
3 entries- आबरंग noun (pigment)
- जलरंग noun (pigment)
- जलवर्ण noun (pigment)
Hungarian
3 entries- akvarell noun (pigment)
- akvarell noun (painting)
- vízfesték noun (pigment)
Ido
2 entries- aquafarbo noun (pigment)
- aquarelo noun (pigment)
Indonesian
2 entries- akuarel noun (painting)
- cat air noun (pigment)
Irish
4 entries- dobharlí noun (pigment)
- dobharlí noun (painting)
- uiscedhath noun (pigment)
- uiscedhath noun (painting)
Italian
2 entries- acquerello noun (pigment)
- acquerello noun (painting)
Japanese
3 entries- ウォーターカラー noun (pigment)
- 水彩 noun (pigment)
- 水彩画 noun (painting)
Khmer
1 entries- ពណ៌ទឹក noun (pigment)
Korean
2 entries- 수채 noun (pigment)
- 수채화 noun (painting)
Lao
1 entries- ສີນໍ້າ noun (pigment)
Latvian
1 entries- akvarelis noun (pigment)
Ligurian
1 entries- acquarèllo noun (pigment)
Lithuanian
1 entries- akvarelė noun (pigment)
Lombard
1 entries- acquarèll noun (pigment)
Macedonian
1 entries- акварел noun (pigment)
Malay
1 entries- cat air noun (pigment)
Māori
1 entries- peita waikano noun (painting)
Norwegian Bokmål
2 entries- akvarell noun (painting)
- vannfarge noun (pigment)
Norwegian Nynorsk
2 entries- akvarell noun (painting)
- vassfarge noun (pigment)
Occitan
1 entries- aqüarèla noun (pigment)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- Tusch noun (pigment)
Polish
3 entries- akwarela noun (pigment)
- akwarela noun (painting)
- farba wodna noun (pigment)
Portuguese
2 entries- aquarela noun (pigment)
- aquarela noun (painting)
Romanian
2 entries- acuarelă noun (pigment)
- acuarelă noun (painting)
Russian
2 entries- акваре́ль noun (pigment)
- акваре́ль noun (painting)
Scottish Gaelic
2 entries- dealbh dath-uisge noun (painting)
- peanta dath-uisge noun (pigment)
Spanish
2 entries- acuarela noun (pigment)
- acuarela noun (painting)
Swedish
1 entries- akvarell noun (painting)
Tagalog
2 entries- akwarela noun (pigment)
- akwarela noun (painting)
Thai
1 entries- สีน้ำ noun (pigment)
Turkish
3 entries- akvarel noun (painting)
- sulu boya noun (pigment)
- sulu boya noun (painting)
Vietnamese
1 entries- màu nước noun (pigment)
Welsh
2 entries- dyfrlliw noun (pigment)
- peintiad dyfrlliw noun (painting)
West-Frisian
2 entries- akwarel noun (pigment)
- akwarel noun (painting)
Sample sentences
13 total sentences available.
I especially love painting in watercolour.
Source: tatoeba (9419256)
I have been studying Japanese aesthetics consciously since my teenage years on Lulu Island, or maybe even before, as a prepubescent somewhat unwittingly in the Philippines. In Quezon City, we kids watched Japanese samurai shows and cartoons. We made Zero fighters and Messerschmidts as cardboard airplanes to hang from the ceiling of our library, where we had collection jars of crab-like spiders with thick exoskeletons. On Lulu Island, I studied autodidactically the basics of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, the components of the Japanese language, during vacation as a teenager, whilst I did also watercolour painting and sculptures from DAS air-dry clay. I then took Japanese language in university. In my twenties, I actually lived in Japan for some time. Later, for years on my Social Media, I have been observing exquisite Japanese images. And I become a fan of anime. To me, Japanese aesthetics allude to Finnish, Eskimo, and Polynesian artwork. Japanese art can contrast the ancient with the ultramodern.
Source: tatoeba (12312747)
This paper can handle watercolour well.
Source: tatoeba (13022121)
Showing 4 of 13 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "watercolour"?
Closest matches include water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolor.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "watercolour"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.