trichromatic
adjective
tri·chro·mat·ic
ˌtrī-krō-ˈma-tik 
1
: of, relating to, or consisting of three colors
trichromatic light
2
a
: relating to or being the theory that human color vision involves three types of retinal sensory receptors
b
: characterized by trichromatism
trichromatic vision
Examples of trichromatic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But their gray world is rich in attributes that might otherwise pale in our trichromatic, million-color world.
—
Kanya Kanchana, Longreads, 15 Oct. 2024
Helmholtz’s theory was that our vision was trichromatic, based on three fundamental colors: red, green, and blue, which can be combined to make any other color.
—The Lost Women Of Science Initiative, Scientific American, 30 Nov. 2023
Like most primates, humans are trichromatic—that is, our eyes have three types of color-sensitive receptors or cones: blue, green, and red.
—Virginia Morell, National Geographic, 15 June 2020
About 30 million years ago, one of our primate ancestors’ cones split into two — red- and green-detecting — which, together with the existing blue-detecting cone, give us trichromatic vision.
—Quanta Magazine, 12 July 2016
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Kanya Kanchana, Longreads, 15 Oct. 2024
Helmholtz’s theory was that our vision was trichromatic, based on three fundamental colors: red, green, and blue, which can be combined to make any other color.
—The Lost Women Of Science Initiative, Scientific American, 30 Nov. 2023
Like most primates, humans are trichromatic—that is, our eyes have three types of color-sensitive receptors or cones: blue, green, and red.
—Virginia Morell, National Geographic, 15 June 2020
About 30 million years ago, one of our primate ancestors’ cones split into two — red- and green-detecting — which, together with the existing blue-detecting cone, give us trichromatic vision.
—Quanta Magazine, 12 July 2016
Cite this Entry
“Trichromatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trichromatic. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
trichromatic
adjective
tri·chro·mat·ic
ˌtrī-krō-ˈmat-ik
1
: of, relating to, or consisting of three colors
trichromatic light
2
a
: relating to or being the theory that human color vision involves three types of retinal sensory receptors
b
: characterized by trichromatism
trichromatic vision
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