true black

Total light absence

True black is the deepest, most complete black—absorbing all light with no hint of gray or undertone.

In design and printing, true black often requires mixing multiple ink colors rather than black ink alone to achieve maximum darkness.

The term distinguishes absolute black from the many near-blacks that lean blue, brown, or purple: The dress looked black in the store but wasn't true black in sunlight.

Related

coal · midnight · dead of night · raven · onyx · void · darkness · abyss · dark matter · soot · shadow · lightless · pure · pigment · noir · deep · absolute · opaque

Categories
Opposites
color lightness/darkness

true blackpure white

Entirely without color

bright white · white · off-white · cream · ivory

color purity/saturation

true blackcharcoal

Burned wood residue

dark gray · slate · anthracite

chromatic presence

true blackvivid color

Intensely saturated shade

technicolor · rainbow · polychrome · multicolored · chromatic

Family

true, black, truly, truth, truthful, truthfully, untruthful, truths, truer

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G