What is the meaning of black-and-white?

adjective

  • Lacking hue or shades of grey; part white and part black.
    • usage: "a black-and-white cow"; "black-and-white blooms"; "black-and-white stripes"
  • Not having or not capable of producing colors.
    • usage: "black-and-white film"; "a black-and-white TV"; "the movie was in black and white"
  • Of a situation that is sharply divided into mutually exclusive categories.
    • usage: "he rejected a black-and-white world"; "there are no black-and-white certainties"; "there were no grey areas, you were either for him or against him, he was all black-and-white"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). black-and-white. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/black-and-white/definitions/1169423
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "black-and-white" http://smartdefine.org/black-and-white/definitions/1169423 (accessed September 22, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, black-and-white, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/black-and-white/definitions/1169423>.
MLAWordNet. "black-and-white" 23 October 2010. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/black-and-white/definitions/1169423>