Synonyms and antonyms of Words used to describe skin color in American Thesaurus

a high color ()

someone who has a high color has a pink or red face

albino (noun)

a person or animal with very pale skin, white hair or fur, and pink eyes caused by a medical condition that they were born with

(as) white as a sheet ()

extremely pale

bloodless (adjective)

a bloodless face or skin is very pale

bronzed (adjective)

someone who is bronzed has attractive brown skin because they have spent a lot of time in the sun

brown (adjective)

with skin that is naturally brown or has been made brown by the sun

color (noun)

the color of someone’s skin as a sign of their race

colored (adjective)

offensive someone who is colored is a black person. Older white people sometimes use this word thinking it is polite, but black people consider it offensive.

Colored (adjective)

South African a colored person has a mixture of people from different races in their family background

Colored (noun)

South African someone who has a mixture of different races in their family background

coloured ()

the British spelling of colored

complected (adjective)

American someone who is dark or fair complected has dark or fair skin. Some people think this word should not be used and complexioned should be used instead.

complexioned (adjective)

someone who is dark or fair complexioned has dark or light skin

dark (adjective)

if a white person is described as being dark, they have brown or black hair and sometimes skin that is not light in color

dusky (adjective)

literary with dark skin. This word is now considered offensive.

fair (adjective)

someone who is fair has light hair and pale skin

florid (adjective)

literary a florid face is red

gray (adjective)

if someone’s face is gray, they look pale because they are sick or shocked

green (adjective)

if someone looks green, their face is pale and they look sick

jaundiced (adjective)

looking sick and slightly yellow in color, especially because of illness

olive (adjective)

olive skin is yellowish brown in color

pallid (adjective)

very pale in a way that does not look natural or good

pallor (noun)

the very pale color that your skin has when you are sick or worried

pasty (adjective)

a pasty face or pasty skin looks pale and not very healthy

peaches-and-cream (adjective)

peaches-and-cream skin is smooth, pale, and slightly pink

pigmentation (noun)

formal the natural color of something, for example someone’s skin

rosy (adjective)

pink and looking healthy

rubicund (adjective)

literary having a red face

ruddy (adjective)

literary red and looking healthy

sallow (adjective)

sallow skin is a pale yellow color and does not look healthy

swarthy (adjective)

mainly literary someone who is swarthy has dark skin

tanned (adjective)

British tan from the sun

white (adjective)

very pale in the face because you are frightened, angry, or sick

yellow (adjective)

offensive a very offensive word used for describing the color of the skin of people from some parts of Asia