colorful

• colourful (Commonwealth)

From color +‎ -ful.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌlɚfəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌləfəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

colorful (comparative more colorful, superlative most colorful) (American spelling)

1. Possessing prominent and varied colors.
   • 1895, The Annual of the British School at Athens:

     It was a colourful vase with red and white hoops on the lid, and red bands above and below the main frieze. These bands also carry a metope pattern in white of triple lines and blobs, which can just be distinguished on the photographs.

   • 2025 January 28, Cameron Joseph, “Meet Mitt Romney’s replacement – who could make or break the Trump agenda”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     [Sen. John Curtis] gives colorful socks to other lawmakers on their birthdays.

2. Interesting, multifaceted, energetic, distinctive.
   • 1895, H. Walter Staner, Henry Sturmey, The Autocar:

     One of the most colourful people in motor racing, he writes in a colourful manner.

3. (euphemistic) Profane, obscene, offensive (usually in the phrase colourful language).
   • 2002, news.bbc.co.uk

     Hussain celebrated reaching his ton with a gesture towards the media centre, pointing to the number three on the back of his shirt and offering some colourful language.

• (possessing prominent and varied colors): motley, multicolored, polychromatic; see also Thesaurus:multicolored