hue

noun

ˈhyü 

1

: overall character or appearance to the mind : complexion, aspect

… political parties of every hue …

—Louis Wasserman

2

a

: color

all the hues of the rainbow

b

: gradation of color

… the hues and shades of twilight …

—Colin Clark

c

: the attribute of colors that permits them to be classed as red, yellow, green, blue, or an intermediate between any contiguous pair of these colors

red with an orange hue

compare brightness sense 2, lightness sense 2a, saturation sense 4

Synonyms of hue

• shade
• color
• tone
• tint

Examples of hue in a Sentence

We decorated the room in hues of blue and green.

decorated the room in hues of blue and green

Recent Examples on the Web

Princess Kate and Queen Camilla had a matching moment in their blue hues on Wednesday, as the Queen also dressed in the color. —Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025

There, alongside those typical hues is Forest Lake, a dark green-blue color that anyone who has flown into one of Sweden’s regional airports will instantly recognize as being inspired by the inland bodies of water that dot the country from top to bottom. —Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025

The Endless High-rise Pants currently come in ten colors, but Athleta is constantly adding new hues into the mix. —Talia Ergas, Travel + Leisure, 2 Dec. 2025

Elsewhere at the annual awards ceremony, Rihanna played with hues on the opposite end of the color wheel, melting a kaleidoscope of gray and charcoal over her lids and up into her brow bone. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 2 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hewe, from Old English hīw; akin to Old Norse hȳ plant down, Goth hiwi form

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing hue

• hue and cry

Rhymes for hue

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

hue

noun

ˈhyü 

1

: color sense 1

2

: a particular variety of a color : shade

3

: an aspect of colors that allows them to be identified as red, yellow, green, blue, or something between any two of these colors

Medical Definition

hue

noun

ˈhyü 

: the one of the three psychological dimensions of color perception that permits them to be classified as red, yellow, green, blue, or an intermediate between any contiguous pair of these colors and that is correlated with the wavelength or the combination of wavelengths comprising the stimulus compare brightness, saturation sense 4a

Geographical Definition

Hue

geographical name

ˈ(h)wā 

hü-ˈā, 

hyü-ˈā

variants or French Hué

city and port in central Vietnam; formerly capital of Annam population 302,983