off-color

adjective

off-col·​or ˈȯf-ˈkə-lər 

variants or off-colored

ˈȯf-ˈkə-lərd 

1

a

: not having the right or standard color

b

: being out of sorts

2

a

: of doubtful propriety : dubious

b

: verging on the indecent

off-color remarks

Synonyms

• bawdy
• blue
• gamy
• gamey
• lewd
• off
• racy
• ribald
• risqué
• salty
• spicy
• suggestive

Examples of off-color in a Sentence

the movie was rated PG-13 for some swearing and off-color jokes

Recent Examples on the Web

Her sensibility is grounded in sincerity but relies on bawdy, off-color jokes to deflect from empowerment messaging that might otherwise seem square. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Sep. 2024

Marvel dropped a full trailer in April that was chock-full of off-color witticisms, meta-references, slo-mo action, and a generous sprinkling of F-bombs. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 July 2024

Jack Black responded to the backlash spurred by an off-color joke by his longtime Tenacious D musical partner Kyle Gass on Tuesday morning (July 16) by apologizing and announcing an indefinite hold on all future creative plans for the comedic rock duo. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 July 2024

The behavior, the plaintiffs say, would worsen whenever the CEO issued one of his many off-color tweets. —Sarah Green Carmichael, The Mercury News, 18 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1a