in black and white
On the page
In black and white means in writing or print—documented rather than merely spoken: Get the agreement in black and white before you sign anything.
The phrase also describes something presented as absolute, without nuance or gray areas: She sees everything in black and white.
Literally, it refers to images without color: old photographs in black and white.
- writtenComposed in text
- formalFollowing strict protocol
- legal documentFormally binding written record
- explicitClearly and directly expressed
- clear cutSharply defined, unmistakable
signed and sealed · agreement · record · starkness · proof · contract · binary · ink · grayscale · chiaroscuro · truth · monochrome · clarity · print · evidence · declaration · statement · absoluteness
in black and whitein color
Displaying multiple hues
colorized · polychrome · multicolored · polychromatic · chromatic
in black and whiteverbally
By means of speech
orally · off the record · unwritten · verbal · spoken
in black and whitenuanced
Having fine distinctions
ambiguously · relativistically · contextually · it's complicated · multifaceted
black, white, blacken, blackened, blackening, blacks, blacker, blackest, blackness