In music, chromatic means related to the scale that consists only of semitones.
...the notes of the chromatic scale.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Chromatic means related to colours.
chromatic in British English
(krəˈmætɪk)
adjective
1.
of, relating to, or characterized by a colour or colours
2. music
a.
involving the sharpening or flattening of notes or the use of such notes in chords and harmonic progressions
b.
of or relating to the chromatic scale or an instrument capable of producing it
a chromatic harmonica
c.
of or relating to chromaticism
Compare diatonic
Derived forms
chromatically (chroˈmatically)
adverb
chromaticism (chroˈmaticism)
noun
Word origin
C17: from Greek khrōmatikos, from khrōma colour
chromatic in American English
(kroʊˈmætɪk)
adjective
1.
of color or having color or colors
2.
highly colored
3. Biology
readily stained
4. Music
a.
using or progressing by semitones
a chromatic scale
b.
producing all the tones of such a scale
a chromatic instrument
c.
using tones not in the key of a work
chromatic harmony
noun
5. Music
a tone modified by an accidental
Derived forms
chromatically (chroˈmatically)
adverb
chromaticism (chroˈmatiˌcism) (ˈkroʊˈmætəˌsɪzəm)
noun
Word origin
LL chromaticus < Gr chrōmatikos, suited for color: see chroma & -atic
All related terms of 'chromatic'
chromatic scale
a twelve-note scale including all the semitones of the octave
chromatic colour
an attribute of things that results from the light they reflect , transmit , or emit in so far as this light causes a visual sensation that depends on its wavelengths
chromatic printing
printing from blocks or types inked with various colours
chromatic semitone
the pitch difference between one note and its sharpened or flattened equivalent
chromatic aberration
a defect in a lens system in which different wavelengths of light are focused at different distances because they are refracted through different angles . It produces a blurred image with coloured fringes
chromatic adaptation
the alteration by photosynthesizing organisms of the proportions of their photosynthetic pigments in response to the intensity and colour of the available light, as shown by algae in the littoral zone , which change from green to red as the zone is descended
colour
The colour of something is the appearance that it has as a result of the way in which it reflects light. Red, blue, and green are colours.