INDIGO (indigoes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: indigoes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does indigo mean? 

• INDIGO (noun)
  The noun INDIGO has 3 senses:

1. a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically

2. deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye

3. a blue-violet color

  Familiarity information: INDIGO used as a noun is uncommon.

• INDIGO (adjective)
  The adjective INDIGO has 1 sense:

1. having a color between blue and violet

  Familiarity information: INDIGO used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INDIGO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

anil; indigo; indigotin

Hypernyms ("indigo" is a kind of...):

dye; dyestuff (a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

indigo; indigo plant; Indigofera tinctoria

Hypernyms ("indigo" is a kind of...):

bush; shrub (a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "indigo"):

anil; Indigofera anil; Indigofera suffruticosa (shrub of West Indies and South America that is a source of indigo dye)

Holonyms ("indigo" is a member of...):

genus Indigofera; Indigofera (genus of tropical herbs and shrubs having odd-pinnate leaves and spurred flowers in long racemes or spikes)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A blue-violet color

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("indigo" is a kind of...):

reddish blue; violet (a variable color that lies beyond blue in the spectrum)

• INDIGO (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Having a color between blue and violet

Context example:

indigo flowers

Similar:

colored; colorful; coloured (having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination)

 Context examples 

The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between green and indigo, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 420 to 490 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation, whose hue is that of a clear daytime sky.

(Blue, NCI Thesaurus)