Synonyms of blue

blue 1 of 2

adjective

ˈblü 

1

as in sad

feeling unhappiness

a cold, dreary day always leaves me blue

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sad
• depressed
• unhappy
• heartbroken
• miserable
• bad
• melancholy
• sorry
• upset
• worried
• mournful
• disappointed
• sorrowful
• uneasy
• gloomy
• hopeless
• melancholic
• troubled
• down
• dejected
• disconsolate
• downcast
• joyless
• woebegone
• droopy
• glum
• distressed
• forlorn
• crestfallen
• doleful
• inconsolable
• despondent
• depressing
• wretched
• suicidal
• down in the mouth
• hangdog
• woeful
• heartsick
• low
• brokenhearted
• saddened
• cast down
• downhearted
• low-spirited
• heavyhearted
• gray
• discouraged
• heartsore
• sunk
• black
• aggrieved
• tearful
• despairing
• grieving
• weeping
• unquiet
• somber
• bleak
• dark
• dispirited
• desolate
• plaintive
• lachrymose
• dolorous
• lugubrious
• wailing
• anguished
• disheartened
• sullen
• darkening
• morbid
• regretful
• cheerless
• morose
• agonized
• elegiac
• dreary
• rueful
• dismal
• saturnine
• murky
• funereal
• drear
• comfortless

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• cheery
• sunny
• happy
• joyous
• joyful
• buoyant
• jubilant
• glad
• exuberant
• blissful
• merry
• upbeat
• gleeful
• ecstatic
• jolly
• delighted
• chipper
• rapturous
• euphoric
• jovial
• rosy
• buoyed
• exultant
• rhapsodic
• excited
• enraptured
• blithe
• jocular
• optimistic
• mirthful
• sanguine
• jocose
• hopeful
• energetic
• animated
• spirited
• lively
• content
• smiling
• blithesome
• elated
• bouncing
• perky
• overjoyed
• gladsome
• vivacious
• jaunty
• gladdened
• vital
• peppy
• jocund
• springy
• lightsome
• sprightly
• frisky
• zippy
• exhilarated
• entranced
• laughing
• satisfied
• encouraged
• thrilled
• pleased
• careless
• cavalier
• grinning
• carefree
• unconcerned
• easygoing
• gratified
• lighthearted
• insouciant
• boon
• beaming
• heartened
• sprightful
• happy-go-lucky
• devil-may-care

2

as in obscene

depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society

was shocked at the blue banter on that satellite-radio talk show

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obscene
• vulgar
• dirty
• nasty
• foul
• filthy
• suggestive
• gross
• naughty
• pornographic
• coarse
• obnoxious
• crude
• unacceptable
• offensive
• stag
• unwanted
• trashy
• unpleasant
• impure
• disgusting
• smutty
• unprintable
• raunchy
• bawdy
• lascivious
• locker-room
• undesirable
• profane
• indecent
• ribald
• abusive
• lewd
• broad
• soft
• gutter
• infamous
• wanton
• off
• salty
• X-rated
• porny
• wicked
• low
• coarse-grained
• earthy
• kinky
• barnyard
• salacious
• perverted
• off-color
• racy
• scatological
• unwelcome
• unbecoming
• repulsive
• loathsome
• objectionable
• depraved
• gamy
• revolting
• repellent
• immodest
• risqué
• indecorous
• indelicate
• repugnant
• abhorrent
• perverse
• louche
• exceptionable
• distasteful
• hard-core
• atrocious
• scurrilous
• reprehensible
• blameworthy
• censurable
• blamable
• soft-core
• debasing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clean
• decent
• wholesome
• proper
• Victorian
• correct
• nice
• staid
• puritanical
• prim
• polite
• appropriate
• innocuous
• prudish
• respectable
• acceptable
• genteel
• desirable
• suitable
• decorous
• welcome
• pleasant
• pure
• nonobscene
• becoming
• inoffensive
• perfect
• meet
• agreeable
• priggish
• straitlaced
• G-rated
• pleasing
• fit
• seemly
• spotless
• immaculate
• virginal
• endorsed
• approved
• sanctioned

3

as in suggestive

hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent

a lighthearted comedy with a few moments of blue humor

Synonyms & Similar Words

• suggestive
• naughty
• off-color
• spicy
• off
• salty
• vulgar
• bawdy
• ribald
• lewd
• racy
• coarse
• warm
• gamy
• nasty
• risqué
• pornographic
• dirty
• crude
• obscene
• foul
• filthy
• coarse-grained
• earthy
• gross
• barnyard
• stag
• leering
• smutty
• unprintable
• raunchy
• lascivious
• locker-room
• indecent
• prurient
• gutter
• immodest
• indecorous
• indelicate
• unpublishable
• X-rated
• porny

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clean
• decent
• innocuous
• inoffensive
• nonobscene
• Victorian
• staid
• puritanical
• prim
• proper
• correct
• nice
• G-rated
• prudish
• priggish
• polite
• respectable
• genteel
• decorous
• seemly
• straitlaced

4

as in intellectual

much given to learning and thinking

a book club that had been founded many years earlier by the blue, progressive women of the city

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intellectual
• cerebral
• cultured
• long-haired
• nerdy
• geeky
• academic
• scholarly
• highbrow
• intellectualistic
• literate
• intelligent
• intellectualist
• nerdish
• educated
• highbrowed
• brilliant
• eggheaded
• cultivated
• clever
• smart
• bright
• learned
• erudite
• professorial
• bookish
• didactic
• snooty
• schooled
• snobbish
• snobby
• high-toned
• high-hat
• pedantic
• brainy
• hyperintellectual
• well-read
• polyhistoric
• polymath
• quick-witted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lowbrow
• nonintellectual
• ignorant
• uncultivated
• uncultured
• uneducated
• dumb
• stupid
• unread
• illiterate
• slow
• idiotic
• foolish
• unlettered
• anti-intellectual
• philistine
• unintelligent
• moronic
• benighted
• unenlightened

blue

2 of 2

noun

1

as in sky

the expanse of air surrounding the earth

the plane flew off into the blue and was never seen again

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sky
• welkin
• heaven(s)
• high
• firmament
• midair
• skyline
• horizon

2

as in sea

the whole body of salt water that covers nearly three-fourths of the earth

pirate ships that sailed the vasty blue in search of treasure

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sea
• ocean
• waters
• Neptune
• brine
• deep
• seven seas
• blue water
• high seas
• basin
• depths
• main
• Davy Jones's locker

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of blue

Adjective

We’re drawn to this blue-and-green set, which is topped with a black crocodile pattern. — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 21 Aug. 2026

The flora and fauna that make the Galápagos a bucket list destination spill into coastal Peru, where creatures like green turtles and blue footed boobies are sighted regularly. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2026

Noun

The general had been inspired to join the Marine Corps, in part, after seeing Capers on a recruiting poster in his dress blues with a chest full of medals. — Ethan Rocke, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

The winter palette is filled with saturated blues and jewel tones; the summer palette features powder blues and soft reds. — Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Phrases Containing blue

• blue blood
• blue devils
• blue in the face
• blue moon
• blue ribbon
• bolt from the blue
• bolt out of the blue
• once in a blue moon
• talk a blue streak