achromatic

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌækrəˈmætɪk/ UK /ˌakrəˈmatɪk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
free from color; transmitting light without separating it into colors

The achromatic lens minimized the fringe of color around bright objects.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · free from color;... colorless neutraluncoloredmonochrome

Opposites

chromatic colored colorful

Word family

Derived forms achromaticallyachromatism

Related forms chromaticchromaticityachromatism

Etymology

From Ancient Greek akhrōmatos ('colorless') + -ic, from a- (privative 'without') + khrôma ('color').

akhrōmatos Ancient Greek khrôma Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# achromatic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌækrəˈmætɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌakrəˈmatɪk/

## Meanings
1. free from color; transmitting light without separating it into colors

## Examples
- The achromatic lens minimized the fringe of color around bright objects.

## Synonyms
- colorless
- neutral
- uncolored
- monochrome

## Antonyms
- chromatic
- colored
- colorful

## Derived Forms
- achromatically
- achromatism

## Related Forms
- chromatic
- chromaticity
- achromatism

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: akhrōmatos
- Root: khrôma

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek akhrōmatos ('colorless') + -ic, from a- (privative 'without') + khrôma ('color').

## AI Etymology
achromatic comes from Ancient Greek akhrōmatos ('colorless') + -ic, from a- (privative 'without') + khrôma ('color'). Morphologically, the word is transparent: -ic is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the adjective sense is "free from color; transmitting light without separating it into colors", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as chromatic, chromaticity, achromatism and derivatives such as achromatically, achromatism, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Ancient Greek akhrōmatos, Ancient Greek khrôma, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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