tan colors - OneLook

Literary analysis:

In literature, tan is frequently invoked to evoke natural warmth and to lend subtle nuance to both characters and settings. Authors use the hue to depict everything from skin tones to weathered fabrics and landscapes. For example, a character’s complexion is rendered with a distinctive "Gipsy tan" that contrasts sharply with more typical skin colors [1] and is later noted in varying degrees to suggest hidden depths or concealed vulnerability [2]. Tan also figures prominently in descriptions of clothing and objects—ranging from tan shoes and frocks that emphasize a character’s rustic charm [3, 4] to tan accessories like gloves and sofa chairs that provide an earthy, reliable quality [5, 6]. Moreover, the color is used to sketch atmospheric settings, as seen in a tan-strewn arena [7] or even in the bleached hues of a seaside vista [8]. Through these diverse applications, tan functions both as a vivid descriptor of material reality and a symbolic marker of identity and place.

Her face was of Egyptian brown; rarely in a woman of English birth had I seen a more determinate Gipsy tan.
— from Dorothy Wordsworth: The Story of a Sister's Love by Edmund Lee
If any of them were embarrassed they concealed the fact skilfully behind stony eyes and complexions of varying degrees of tan.
— from Poppy: The Story of a South African Girl by Cynthia Stockley
He was stripped to the waist, and wore a blue sash, white trunks, and tan shoes.
— from At Start and Finish by William Lindsey
A little figure in a crumpled tan frock was huddled against one of the stones.
— from Rainbow Hill by Josephine Lawrence
She carefully tucked inside the little tan booklet Journal Style that she had been studying, and shut the drawer again tight.
— from Joan of the Journal by Helen Diehl Olds
He flipped the light switch on and started for the tan sofa chair, jiggling the keys in his hand.
— from Subject to Change by Ron Goulart
She was conducted to a front seat in one of these balconies, which overhung the tan-strewn arena.
— from Cashel Byron's Profession by Bernard Shaw
Cary looked very nice, Doris thought, for the sea tan had nearly all bleached out.
— from A Little Girl in Old Boston by Amanda M. Douglas

This tab, the new OneLook "color thesaurus", is a work in progress. It draws from a data set of more than 2000 color names gathered from sources around the Web, and an analysis of how they are referenced in English texts.

Enter any color to explore similar colors, as well as objects and concepts associated with the color in English texts. Examples: lime green, lavender.
Enter any object or concept to see the colors associated with the object or concept in English texts, as well as words that have a similar color profile. Examples: rage, sun, jeans, royalty.

Some words, like "peach", function as both a color name and an object; when you do a search for words like these, you will see both of the above sections.

Color thesaurus

Literary notes

Word games