Definition of coloration
1 a
: the state of having color
- the dark coloration of his skin
b
: use or choice of colors (as by an artist)
c
: arrangement of colors
- the coloration of a butterfly's wing
2 a
: characteristic quality
- the newspapers … took on the former coloration of the magazine
- —L. B. Seltzer
b
: aspect suggesting an attitude
- the chameleon talent for taking on the intellectual coloration of whatever idea he happened to fasten onto
- —Budd Schulberg
3
: subtle variation of intensity or quality of tone
- a wide range of coloration from the orchestra
