What does monochromat mean?
A monochromat is a person with monochromatic vision, a condition in which only one basic colour, or a limited range of shades associated with one colour, can be perceived. The term is used mainly in clinical genetics, ophthalmology, and vision science, although it can also describe an animal with a single functional visual pigment. In humans, the condition may result from the absence of two of the three cone-cell types, leaving vision based on the remaining type, or from other abnormalities affecting colour processing. The word is more precise than the general expression “colour-blind person,” but it should not be used to imply that every person with impaired colour vision sees only one colour. Common colour-vision deficiencies affect the perception of red and green or blue and yellow while leaving other colours partly visible. Monochromat is therefore chiefly a technical term encountered in specialist literature rather than general conversation.
nounA person with monochromatic vision, especially someone with total or severe colour blindness who perceives only one basic colour or shades of a single colour. The term is chiefly used in specialist and clinical contexts.
- A person who has monochromatic vision, typically because only one class of cone cells is functional or because colour vision is otherwise absent or severely impaired.
- A person or animal possessing a single functional type of visual pigment.
"The specialist explained that the young monochromat perceived the world almost entirely in shades of blue and grey."
"The clinic was able to provide specialist support for children who are monochromats."
"In the experiment, each monochromat detected light of only one wavelength."
The plural is used mainly in specialist and clinical writing.
"The researchers compared the responses of several monochromats to coloured test stimuli."
A monochromat’s world may look like a photograph: colour disappears, leaving shades of a single hue.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does monochromat come from?
The word belongs to a family built from Greek monos, meaning “single,” and khroma, meaning “colour.” The same root produced English words such as monochrome and monochromatic, which describe the use or appearance of a single colour. Monochromat was formed as a noun for an individual or organism possessing monochromatic vision.
How monochromat is actually used
This is a specialist term rather than a usual everyday word for someone with colour blindness. In clinical usage, a monochromat may have achromatopsia, in which vision is limited to shades of a single colour rather than the full colour spectrum.
Easily confused with monochromat
Monochromatic is normally an adjective describing something that uses or appears in only one colour, whereas a monochromat is a person or animal with monochromatic vision.