Chroma (related terms: saturation, purity, intensity)
A measure of the vividness of a colour, judged relative to an achromatic grey of the same lightness/value.
Chroma is related to the terms saturation and purity, used in some colour ordering systems, but does not mean precisely the same thing. From the Greek khroma, colour. Note that the term ‘colourfulness’ is often used to describe the vividness or chroma of a colour in everyday language. However, the term ‘colourfulness’ has a precise definition as a formal scientific concept.
The swatches on the left have higher chroma than the ones on the right.
Simple definition: How vivid or muted a colour looks. (Or, how close to a grey of the same lightness a colour looks.)
Expanded discussion: Available at David Briggs’ website – The Dimensions of Colour: Chroma
Example: The swatches on the left have higher chroma than the ones on the right.
See also Colour Attributes.
