Black-and-white
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech adjective
Quick meaning: Black-and-white is an adjective meaning Of art, a photograph or photography, using shades of grey rather than shades of any other color.
Meaning
Of art, a photograph or photography, using shades of grey rather than shades of any other color.
More Meanings
- Of a television or monitor, displaying images in shades of grey rather than color.
- (figurative, idiomatic) Classifying people, objects or concepts as two polar opposites, especially "right" and "wrong"; dichotomous and inflexible.
- Alternative form of black and white (easily divided into diametrically opposing camps).
Example Sentences
You could say that inflexible thinking is black-and-white thinking and flexible thinking is rainbow thinking. Black-and-white thinkers have difficulty being flexible in their mind and seeing different possibilities and perspectives.
“It's complicated. Not everything is black-and-white, Ginny. Sometimes, it's just gray.” The disillusionment in Ginny's eyes hurt bone-deep. She was a black-and-white kind of person. Actions were either right or wrong. No room for in-betweens.
[T]he news bunny ran up to him, saying, "Officer, did you have trouble catching up with Batman? Was it an exciting chase?" The surfer cop struck a semi-heroic pose for the camera and said, "Weak sauce." Then he quickly walked Batman to the black-and-white, where he was put into the backseat.
The pseudo-community of enemies in The Day the Earth Stood Still consists of politicians, the military, and businessmen, whereas the pseudo-community of friends, the element that complements the enemies and reinforces the black-and-white morality of paranoia (Cameron, "Revisited" 56), is composed of scientists, women, and children.
Synonyms for black-and-white
Depending on context, synonyms include monochrome.
Antonyms for black-and-white
Common opposites include colour, color.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include monochrome, black, mono, developed, macrostock, photomechanical.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
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