n.
Pronunciation: ˌ k ə -l ə - ' r ā -sh ə n
Function: noun
Date: 1617
1 a : the state of being colored <the dark coloration of his skin> b : use or choice of colors (as by an artist) c : arrangement of colors <the coloration of a butterfly's wing>
2 a : characteristic quality <the newspapers ⋯ took on the former coloration of the magazine ― L. B. Seltzer> b : aspect suggesting an attitude : PERSUASION <the chameleon talent for taking on the intellectual coloration of whatever idea he happened to fasten onto ― Budd Schulberg>
3 : subtle variation of intensity or quality of tone <a wide range of coloration from the orchestra>