Definition of azure in English:

azure

adjective

1Bright blue in color like a cloudless sky.
‘white beaches surrounded by azure seas’
- ‘All the man saw was a bright azure sky, bright white clouds moving about like sea lions chasing one another, and a bright shining sun that warmed his face.’
- ‘This territory has lush green hills, azure blue skies and spectacular beaches where the loudest noise you will hear is the sound of a coconut dropping to soft white sands.’
- ‘You could, of course, try and land your own dinner with a jolly crew on board one of the hire craft that dance across the azure blue seas.’
- ‘Each bend in the road reveals yet another breathtaking panorama of the Dinara Mountains that sweep down to the Adriatic, a deep cobalt sea under an azure sky.’
- ‘From here you can look north to some of the finest coastal scenery in Britain with islands, white sands and azure blue seas - a view rivalling much more exotic destinations.’
- ‘Endless azure blue skies filled our eyes whenever we stepped out with fluffy white clouds splattered here and there.’
- ‘When she stepped outside, she saw that the sun was smiling cheerfully in an azure blue sky dotted with puffy little clouds.’
- ‘Souvenirs of miniature trains from the Rail Museum have been placed in the inner edges of these walls behind a bright azure blue background.’
- ‘It showed off an azure jewel, encased in silver.’
- ‘Looking through the dresses, Lydia grinned as she found an azure blue, sleeveless, turtleneck dress.’
- ‘Then the next guy will come along and tell me the sky is azure blue, I'll say, ‘No, no, that's royal blue.’’
- ‘Her eyes glistened as she looked out over the blue Pacific waters as the horizon touched a cloudless azure blue sky.’
- ‘His eyes were azure blue and cold, very troubling.’
- ‘He lived in a house on the beach and fell in love with Grenada's azure blue seas and white sand beaches.’
- ‘It started a day of perfect beauty, light fresh winds and azure blue skies.’
- ‘It was a beautiful setting, with calm blue sea, azure skies, brown sailed dhows skimming past us, and it was also very hot.’
- ‘There isn't a single cloud in the azure blue sky.’
- ‘Quiet, timeless little villages are dotted along the coast, palms bending out over a bright azure sea.’
- ‘They were looking out onto a seemingly unending expanse of perfectly blue ocean beneath a cloudless azure sky.’
- ‘The balconies overlooked the Whitsunday passage, but if you could wrest your gaze from the azure blue reef you were treated to a birdseye view of the hotel spa.’
sky-blue, deep blue, bright blue, blue, ultramarine
View synonyms
1. 1.1Heraldry Blue.
  postpositive ‘a saltire azure’
  ‘They both had the same device upon the surcoats; it was a Virgin Mary embroidered on a field azure.’
  ‘The original flag design, based upon the Ancient Arms of Nova Scotia, granted by King Charles I in 1625, is on a ground of silver with a saltire azure - a blue St. Andrew's cross.’
  ‘A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’

noun

1A bright blue color.
- ‘Of all the colours in the world, why would you choose azure?’
- ‘Ten minutes were there of silence as blood seeped slowly out of Claud's chest, twisting the bright scarlet into deep azure.’
- ‘The sky was a bright, cloudless azure, and the sun was pinned high and motionless and brilliant upon its zenith.’
- ‘Through the use of bright colours such as azure, burgundy, rose, orange, pink and yellow, the artist has lent life to the subject.’
- ‘The orbs consisted of many hues of azure, as if constructed of countless shards of sapphire glass.’
- ‘Her long black locks whip around her, giving her a wild, desperate look, yet her eyes, a crystal blue azure, reflect the strength and determination of her mind.’
- ‘The sky was a beautiful azure blue, without a cloud in the sky.’
- ‘Quick streamers of ice caught three, but the remainder thundered into the barrier of bright azure and burst into searing flares of light and heat.’
- ‘This combination dramatized the only bright color: a vivid azure blue.’
- ‘The tall spire of the Town Hall and its contrasting colours of azure and white stood majestically between a glorious suffusion of greenery.’
- ‘The bright green, azure and blue pointed to the presence of copper.’
- ‘The sky overhead was a bright azure, devoid of any clouds.’
- ‘The sky was an azure blue, extending over New York skyscrapers in the distance, and the water below and beyond was a murky, deep green.’
- ‘On their way back up the canyon they had stopped on a 6m shelf and watched other divers below them silhouetted against the intense azure blue of the open sea, or the cloudy green of the lagoon.’
- ‘Ah yes, there he was, in his dashing shade of azure, heightened by his tan, winking from the wall.’
- ‘The temperature was 26 degrees, the sky an azure blue.’
- ‘The floor was carpeted, again, in a light shade of azure, which added to the misty tint in the hall.’
- ‘New colours jump vibrantly from the concrete walls freshly painted with pastels, earth tones and flamboyant azure.’
- ‘Shining dragon eggs dotted the valley; all tinted with hues of gold, argent, azure, and green.’
- ‘Adopted from Spain, they were modified by the Portuguese, who added a variety of colors, most notably the blue, or azure, from which they get their name.’
1. 1.1literary The clear sky.
  ‘It is the same souls that quiver, the same passions that ferment, the same vices that grow, the same straining toward the azure.’
2A small butterfly that is typically blue or purplish, with color differences between the sexes.
- ‘Tiny blue azures alight in the grass, and cabbage whites hover over the vegetable patch.’
- ‘I was surprised to see tiny spring azures fluttering in one of the large fields; somehow I had the idea that they only appeared early in the year.’
- ‘Azures have a slow, fluttering flight and are often one of the first butterflies encountered when the first warm weather of spring arrives.’

Origin

Middle English (denoting a blue dye): from Old French asur, azur, from medieval Latin azzurum, azolum, from Arabic al ‘the’ + lāzaward (from Persian lāžward ‘lapis lazuli’).