ultramarine

noun ul·tra·ma·rine \ ˌəl-trə-mə-ˈrēn \

Definition of ultramarine

1 a (1) :a blue pigment prepared by powdering lapis lazuli

(2) :a similar pigment prepared from kaolin, soda ash, sulfur, and charcoal

b :any of several related pigments

2 :a vivid blue

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Recent Examples of ultramarine from the Web

This system led to, among other things, the creation of French ultramarine, one of the first affordable blue pigments on a painter’s palette.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "Napoleon’s Lifelong Interest in Science," 15 Aug. 2017
Yellow-green, coral, pale peach, navy, burnt caramel, cream and dusty ultramarine all made it into Cerruti’s menswear fashions — but they were always handled with restrain.

— thomas adamson, The Seattle Times, "Olympic spectacle upstages menswear Fashion Week in Paris," 23 June 2017
Every evening, thirty minutes before sunset, the space will again be muted with LED turquoises and ultramarines to mimic the late afternoon skies and light up the minimalist white walls—the altar will glow at the front of the dark wooden pews.

— alexandra pereira, Condé Nast Traveler, "Why You Need to See James Turrell's Berlin Chapel This Summer," 18 June 2017
The list of supplies that American wildlife artist Francis Lee Jaques needed to paint the backgrounds of the three-dimensional models: one can black paint, two tubes yellow ochre, one tube ultramarine blue, one tube burnt amber, etc.

— mary divine, Twin Cities, "UMN’s new Bell Museum slated to open early summer 2018," 31 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ultramarine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ultramarine

Medieval Latin ultramarinus coming from beyond the sea, from Latin ultra- + mare sea — more at marine

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First Known Use: 1598

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ultramarine

adjective

Definition of ultramarine

:situated beyond the sea

Recent Examples of ultramarine from the Web

One archetypal medieval gown in deep ultramarine velvet had structured straps diagonally across the bust, leading the eye down to floor length slit sleeves — styles worn by queens in court.

— thomas adamson, The Seattle Times, "Fendi stuns with Jenner and Hadid fur show to cap couture," 5 July 2017
As a plein-air artist, Laub worked almost exclusively outdoors, in all kinds of weather, and used only six tubes of oil paint: ultramarine blue, manganese blue, rose madder deep, cadmium orange, cadmium yellow light, and titanium white.

— edith newhall, Philly.com, "In galleries: Joyous colorist John Laub, interiors and exteriors at Gershman, and a painter toasts her teacher," 4 May 2017
Some, of night skies, embed white dots, for stars, in glazes of a dense black, with subliminal admixtures of, Celmins recently told me, ultramarine, raw umber, and ochre.

— peter schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "The Beautiful and the Unexpected," 27 Feb. 2017

First Known Use of ultramarine

1652

ULTRAMARINE Defined for English Language Learners

ultramarine

noun

Definition of ultramarine for English Language Learners

: a very bright blue color

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