color-blind

adjective

col·​or-blind ˈkə-lər-ˌblīnd 

variants or colorblind

1

: affected with partial or total inability to distinguish one or more chromatic colors

Dull colors are the rule for color-blind animals, like elephants and hippos and rhinos.

—Terence Monmaney

… the examiner in Seattle who had first looked at these capsules couldn't possibly have seen the green specks: he was color-blind.

—David Fisher

It really was an awful garment, that pullover. It had a queasy zigzag pattern, in many strange, unhappy colors. It looked like something knitted as a present by a colorblind aunt.

—Terry Pratchett

2

: not influenced by differences of race (see race entry 1 sense 1a)

a color-blind policy/approach

especially : treating all people the same regardless of race

… a country that prefers to see itself as colorblind.

—Sidsel Overgaard

Note: While sense 2 can be used with positive connotations of freedom from racial prejudice, it often suggests a failure or refusal to acknowledge or address the many racial inequities that exist in society, or to acknowledge important aspects of racial identity.

Equitable instruction isn't colorblind, it is responsive to students' unique and diverse backgrounds, said Imani Goffney, assistant professor of mathematics education at the University of Maryland College of Education's Center for Mathematics Education.

—Lindsay McKenzie

What I learned was that white parents often refrain from speaking with their children about race, racism and racial inequality. If racial discussions do occur they are characterized by a colorblind rhetoric.

—Megan R. Underhill

3

: insensitive, oblivious

We maintain no cash reserves, assuming we can borrow our way out of a crisis. We live as if color-blind to risk.

—Byron Moore

Examples of color-blind in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If the tenor of our election doesn’t convince you, a host of other statistics undermine the convenience of citing Chetty’s data in support of color-blind strategies to advance economic opportunity. —Michael Collins, Forbes, 6 Sep. 2024

Gay’s intellectual approach is far from color-blind. —Tim Rosenberger, Orange County Register, 7 Feb. 2024

For decades, the military advanced its mission in a famously color-blind fashion, which bled into popular culture. —Skylar Croy, National Review, 11 Feb. 2024

Nothing in the original Constitution was irreconcilable with a color-blind society in which there was no slavery. —Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023

The mainstream Right still contends there’s another path forward: the Right as the party of safe streets, parental rights, wealth creation, color-blind meritocracy, and competent, cost-effective government. —Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 9 Nov. 2023

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad for using a vision test to disqualify color-blind employees from working. —Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2023

The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge welcomed Aepelbacher and another color-blind local resident to take in the scenery with the launch of special vision glasses and view scopes, designed to help color-blind visitors see the center more clearly. —Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 13 June 2023

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and the companion case Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina reaffirmed the principle of a color-blind Constitution, and Biden v. Nebraska reminded the president that Congress, not the executive, has legislative power. —Caleb Nunes, National Review, 8 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

color-blind

adjective

col·​or-blind

ˈkəl-ər-ˌblīnd

: being partly or totally unable to recognize one or more colors

color blindness noun

Medical Definition

color-blind

adjective

col·​or-blind ˈkəl-ər-ˌblīnd 

variants or colorblind

: affected with partial or total inability to distinguish one or more chromatic colors