What does colourfastness mean?
Colourfastness is the quality of a material or colour treatment that helps prevent fading, bleaching, or other changes in colour. It is especially important for dyed and printed textiles, which may be exposed to washing, sunlight, rubbing, moisture, and cleaning products. A garment or fabric described as colourfast should retain its original colour better than one that is not, although this does not necessarily mean that it cannot transfer dye to other items. In consumer contexts, colourfastness is often treated as a sign of quality and durability; in textile testing, it can be measured under specific conditions. The related adjective colourfast is widely used in phrases such as colourfast fabric, while the noun colourfastness is useful when discussing the property itself, test results, or comparative performance. The term is spelled colourfastness in British English and colorfastness in American English.
nounThe quality of a material, colour, or colour treatment of retaining its colour, especially when exposed to washing, light, rubbing, or other conditions that can cause fading.
- The resistance of a coloured material, dye, or printed design to fading or loss of colour under conditions such as washing, sunlight, rubbing, or chemical exposure.
"The fabric's excellent colourfastness means the blue will remain vivid through repeated washes."
"Wash the garment separately to protect both its colourfastness and other items in the load."
"The laboratory tested the colourfastness of the fabric under exposure to light, moisture, and repeated washing."
Rare; the noun is normally uncountable, with plurals used mainly when discussing multiple measurable properties.
"The laboratory documented colourfastnesses across several fabric samples."
Colourfastness is the quiet promise behind a garment that will not fade, but it says nothing about whether the colour will bleed onto other clothes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does colourfastness come from?
Colourfastness is an English compound formed from colour, fast, and the suffix -ness, parallel to the adjective colourfast. Colour entered English through Old French couleur, ultimately from Latin color, while fast has Old English roots and long been used in the sense of being resistant or firmly fixed, especially in dyeing. The compound belongs to the language of textile and dyeing, where the ability of a colour to resist change has long been a valued property.
Related word forms
How colourfastness is actually used
The word is formal and technical in textile, printing, and product-testing contexts, but is also common in consumer advice about clothing and household fabrics. It is normally used as an uncountable noun; the plural is uncommon. In American English, colorfastness is the standard spelling.
Easily confused with colourfastness
Colourfastness is the noun naming the quality, while colourfast is the adjective describing a material or item that retains its colour.