noun
pastel
PASTL
noun
1
A pale, soft shade of colour.
"The nursery was painted in soft pastel colours."
2
A crayon made of powdered pigment bound with a gum or resin, or a drawing made using it.
"She sketched the landscape using pastels."
How to Use Pastel
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA soft, pale colour, or the chalky crayon medium used by artists.
Common pairings
pastel shades
pastel drawing
soft pastels
Word Forms
pastels plural, pastels plural, pasteles plural
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The nursery was painted in soft _____ colours.
Etymology
Borrowed from French pastel, from Italian pastello, ultimately from Latin pasta, "paste" — describing the crayon's paste-like texture.