greenish

greenish — adjective

1. having a colour that is close to green but not fully green — for example, the co

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

having a colour that is close to green but not fully green — for example, the colour of a lime, unripe fruit, or water with algae in it.

Example

The old copper roof had turned a greenish colour after decades of rain.

predicative use: turn + greenish colour

Park rangers spotted a strange greenish glow coming from deep inside the cave.

collocation: greenish glow

Common collocations
  • greenish glow
  • greenish tint
  • greenish hue
  • greenish colour
  • greenish water
  • greenish yellow
Synonyms
  • green-tinged

    More specific — suggests a trace of green mixed into another base colour

  • greeny

    Informal alternative, used especially in British English

Grammar Patterns

greenish + noun

be + greenish

Usage Note

Frequently used before a noun (attributive) — e.g. 'a greenish glow', 'greenish water'. The -ish suffix means 'to some degree' and is commonly added to colour words (bluish, reddish, yellowish).

Common Mistakes

The water looked greenish colour.
The water looked greenish.
Don't use 'colour' after 'greenish' in a predicative (be/look/seem) structure; 'greenish' already describes the colour itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Greenish is the most neutral and common word for something that is not fully green but close to it — a colour that reminds you of green. Green-tinged is more specific: it suggests a base colour (grey, blue, brown) with just a small amount of green mixed in, as in 'the green-tinged clouds before a storm'. Greeny is an informal, conversational variant used mainly in British English ('a greeny-blue paint'). Verdant is entirely different in register — it means lush and deeply green, used for landscapes and vegetation in formal or literary contexts. For everyday descriptions of objects or liquids that look slightly green, greenish is the safest and most natural choice.

greenish ↗green-tingedgreenyverdant

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • greenish in colour
  • shade of greenish

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in Middle English by adding the suffix -ish (meaning 'having the quality of') to the colour word green. The -ish suffix has been used since Old English times to create adjectives that indicate a lesser degree of a quality, such as yellowish, bluish, and reddish.