adj. 1 of or produced by colour; in (esp. bright) colours. 2 Mus. a of or having notes not belonging to a diatonic scale. b (of a scale) ascending or descending by semitones. chromatic aberration Optics the failure of different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation to come to the same focus after refraction. chromatic semitone Mus. an interval between a note and its flat or sharp. chromatically adv. chromaticism n.
[ F chromatique or L chromaticus f. Gk khromatikos f. khroma -atos colour ]