azure

/ˈæʒə//ˈæʒɚ/

azure noun: the clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.

Image: CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

azure (countable and uncountable, plural azures)

The clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.
- In robes of azure.1815, William Wordsworth, Extracts from An Evening Walk
- For our blues we have the azures and ceruleans, lapis lazulis, the light and dusty, the powder blues, the deeps: royal, sapphire, navy, and marine […]2014, William H. Gass, On Being Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry, page 59
A blue colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines.
- Berington of Chester (on the authority of Harleian manuscript No. 1535) is said to bear a plain shield of azure. Personally I doubt this coat of arms […]1904, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory, London : T.C.; & E.C. Jack, page 41
- In Bb [Glover's Roll], the conventional letter B is used to indicate azure in most items.1997, Brault, Early Blazon
(poetic) The unclouded sky; the blue vault above.
- Not like those steps / On heaven's azure.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Not a single cloud mars the flawless azure; / Not a shadow moves o'er the moveless crops; [...]1889, Mathilde Blind, “[Poems of the Open Air.] Reapers.”, in The Ascent of Man, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 140
Any of various widely distributed lycaenid butterflies of the genus Celastrina.
Any of various Australasian lycaenid butterflies of the genus Ogyris.
Lapis lazuli.

Adjective

azure (not comparable)

Sky blue; resembling the clear blue colour of the unclouded sky.
- When Britain first, at Heaven's command / Arose from out the azure main.1740, James Thomson, Rule, Britannia!
Synonyms:

cerulean
Cloudless.
In blazon, of the colour blue.
- ‘I forget your coat of arms.’
  ‘A human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’1846, Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado
- On the fesse are two bars wavy azure for waterways.1957 February, “B.T.C. Armorial Bearings”, in Railway Magazine, page 81

Verb

azure (third-person singular simple present azures, present participle azuring, simple past and past participle azured)

(transitive) To colour blue.
- Our readers are aware that much of the sugar sold in many countries goes through an azuring treatment; blue is added to granulated sugar with the view of making it appear whiter than it actually is.1907, The Sugar Beet, volume 28, page 271

Proper noun capitalized: Azure

Azure (plural Azures)

A surname.

azure meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

azure in Tamil

தெளிந்த ஆகாய நீலம், மங்கலான நீலம், நீலவானம், நீலவண்ணப்பொருள், நீலமணி, வானீல நிறமான

azure in Urdu

azure: لاجوردی lājvardī, لاجورد lājvard

More languagesFewer languages

azure in Bengali: আকাশের মতো নীল
azure in Telugu: అజురింగ్, అజ్యూరింగ్
azure in Malayalam: ആകാശനീലിമ, ആകാശത്തിന്റെ നിറമുള്ള
azure in Kannada: ಅಜುರೆ
azure in Punjabi: لاجوردی lājvardī, لاجورد lājvard
azure in Gujarati: એઝ્યોર, એઝ્યુર, એઝુર
azure in Odia: ଅଜୁର, ଅଜ୍ଯ଼ୁର୍
azure in Nepali: अजुर, अजुरे, अजुएर
azure in Arabic: سَمَاوِيّ samāwiyy, لَازَوَرْدِيّ lāzawardiyy
azure in Malay: langit biru, biru langit, lazuardi
azure in Indonesian: biru langit
azure in Thai: ฟ้า fáa
azure in Vietnamese: xanh da trời

Examples of azure in a sentence

On his shield was a lion rampant sable, pizzled azure.
Crest — Rising from the top of a lighthouse argent irradiated or a martlet azure.
The icebergs glowed different shades of blue: turquoise, cerulean, azure, pavonated, sapphire, ultramarine.

All 26 example sentences with azure

Synonyms of azure

cerulean

Forms of azure

Noun
plural	azures
alternative form	az.
alternative form	b.
alternative form	bl.
Verb
third-person singular present	azures
present participle	azuring
past participle	azured
past	azured
Proper noun
plural	Azures

Origin of azure

From Middle English asure, from Old French azur, derived from Arabic لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward, “lapis lazuli”), dropping the l as if it were equivalent to the French article l'. The Arabic is from Classical Persian لاجورد (lājward, “lapis lazuli”), from the region of Lajward in Badakhshan. Compare with Italian azzurro and Spanish azul.

Words formed from azure

Phrases with azure

Words that rhyme with azure

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about azure

What does azure mean?: Azure means the clear blue colour of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this colour.
What is azure in Hindi?: Azure in Hindi is अख़्ज़र (axzar). See Azure meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is azure?: Azure can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce azure?: Azure is pronounced /ˈæʒə/ (UK).
What is the plural of azure?: The plural of azure is azures.

Words near azure in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-azure.ogg, En-us-azure.ogg.

Cite this entry: “azure.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/azure. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.