Black vs. Jet Black: What's the Difference?
Edited by Huma Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || Published on October 30, 2023
Black is a dark color, the absence of light; Jet Black is an intense, deep black.
Key Differences
Black, known as the darkest color due to the absence of or complete absorption of light, contrasts with Jet Black, a term that describes a shade of black that is as dark as the gemstone jet, known for its intense, deep coloration and high gloss.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
Black is often linked with sophistication and formality, but it can also denote gloom or evil, whereas Jet Black, with its depth and intensity, is frequently associated with luxury, premium quality, and profound beauty.
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Oct 30, 2023
Black is a standard color in various industries, often due to its versatility and neutrality, while Jet Black is specific and is often used when a richer, more luxurious appearance is desired.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
In the fashion world, black is timeless, providing a slimming effect and denoting elegance, but Jet Black takes it a step further, often related to high-end fashion due to its deep, intense hue that reflects light differently.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 30, 2023
In printing or design, black is a primary color that can vary slightly based on the medium, whereas Jet Black requires specific pigments or materials to achieve its distinctive deep, lustrous appearance.
Harlon Moss
Oct 30, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Connotation
Formality, sophistication, sometimes gloom
Luxury, premium quality
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Oct 30, 2023
Use in Industries
Versatile and neutral
Used for a richer, luxurious appearance
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Oct 30, 2023
Requirement in Art/Design
Standard color, varies with medium
Specific pigments for deep, glossy appearance
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Oct 30, 2023
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Black and Jet Black Definitions
Black
A color resulting from the absence of light.
He wore a black suit to the event.
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Oct 19, 2023
Jet Black
A deep, glossy black color.
The luxury car's jet black finish was stunning.
Janet White
Oct 19, 2023
Black
A color often associated with formality and elegance.
The black-tie event was a sophisticated affair.
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Oct 19, 2023
Jet Black
A black of high intensity and shine.
He purchased a pair of jet black dress shoes.
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Oct 19, 2023
Black
A color symbolizing mystery or mourning.
Black banners flapped in the wind, signifying the town's loss.
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Oct 19, 2023
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Jet Black
A rich, dark shade often associated with elegance.
The jet black tuxedo was perfect for the upscale event.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 19, 2023
Black
The darkest color on the spectrum, absorbing all light.
Black holes in space are named for their absence of light.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 19, 2023
Jet Black
An extremely dark black, like the gemstone jet.
Her jet black hair glistened under the lights.
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Oct 19, 2023
Black
Being of the color black, producing or reflecting comparatively little light and having no predominant hue.
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Oct 14, 2023
Jet Black
An intense black color, deeper than standard black.
The cat's jet black fur made it nearly invisible at night.
Sara Rehman
Oct 19, 2023
Black
Of or belonging to a racial group having brown to black skin, especially one of African origin
The black population of South Africa.
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Oct 14, 2023
Black
Of or belonging to an American ethnic group descended from African peoples having dark skin; African American.
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Black
Being a trail, as for skiing, marked with a sign having a black diamond, indicating a high level of difficulty.
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Black
Being or characterized by morbid or grimly satiric humor
A black comedy.
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Black
Attended with disaster; calamitous
A black day.
The stock market crash on Black Friday.
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Black
Deserving of, indicating, or incurring censure or dishonor
“Man ... has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands” (Rachel Carson).
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Black
Appearing to emanate from a source other than the actual point of origin. Used chiefly of intelligence operations
Black propaganda.
Black radio transmissions.
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Black
Disclosed, for reasons of security, only to an extremely limited number of authorized persons; very highly classified
Black programs in the Defense Department.
The Pentagon's black budget.
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Black
The achromatic color value of minimum lightness or maximum darkness; the color of objects that absorb nearly all light of all visible wavelengths; one extreme of the neutral gray series, the opposite being white. Although strictly a response to zero stimulation of the retina, the perception of black appears to depend on contrast with surrounding color stimuli.
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Oct 14, 2023
Black
Clothing of the darkest hue, especially such clothing worn for mourning.
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Black
A member of a racial group having brown to black skin, especially one of African origin.
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Black
An American descended from peoples of African origin having brown to black skin; an African American.
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Black
The condition of making or operating at a profit
Worked hard to get the business back into the black.
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Black
(of an object) Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
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Black
(sometimes capitalized) Belonging to or descended from any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. See usage notes below.
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Black
(US) Belonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.
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Black
Designated for use by those ethnic groups (as described above).
Black drinking fountain; black hospital
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Black
Of the spades or clubs suits. Compare of the hearts or diamonds suit
I was dealt two red queens, and he got one of the black queens.
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Black
Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen.
He shot her a black look.
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Black
(of coffee or tea) Without any cream, milk, or creamer.
Jim drinks his coffee black, but Ellen prefers it with creamer.
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Black
Of or relating to the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the "black" set (in chess the set used by the player who moves second) often regardless of the pieces' actual colour.
The black pieces in this chess set are made of dark blue glass.
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Black
(typography) Said of a symbol or character that is solid, filled with color. Compare said of a character or symbol outline, not filled with color.
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Black
(politics) Related to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany.
After the election, the parties united in a black-yellow alliance.
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Black
Clandestine; relating to a political, military, or espionage operation or site, the existence or details of which is withheld from the general public.
5 percent of the Defense Department funding will go to black projects.
Black operations/black ops, black room, black site
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Black
Occult; relating to something (such as mystical or magical knowledge) which is unknown to or kept secret from the general public.
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Black
Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic. 1=Compare blackmouth ("Presbyterian").
The Royal Black Institution
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Black
Having one or more features (hair, fur, armour, clothes, bark, etc) that is dark (or black); in taxonomy, especially: dark in comparison to another species with the same base name.
Black birch, black locust, black rhino
The black knight, black bile
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Black
The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed.
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Black
A member of descendant of any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. See usage notes.
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Black
(informal) Blackness, the condition of belonging to or being descended from one of these ethnic groups.
Black don't crack
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Black
, especially as syrup or crème de cassis used for cocktails.
Pernod and black... snakebite and black... cider and black...
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Black
The person playing with the black set of pieces.
At this point black makes a disastrous move.
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Black
Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark color, the opposite of white; characterized by such a color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes.
O night, with hue so black!
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Oct 14, 2023
Black
In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the heavens black with clouds.
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
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Black
Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness; destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked; cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible.
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Black
Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen; foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.
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Black
That which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest color, or rather a destitution of all color; as, a cloth has a good black.
Black is the badge of hell,The hue of dungeons, and the suit of night.
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Black
A negro; a person whose skin is of a black color, or shaded with black; esp. a member or descendant of certain African races.
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Black
A black garment or dress; as, she wears black
Friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the like show death terrible.
That was the full time they used to wear blacks for the death of their fathers.
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Oct 14, 2023
Black
The part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest by being black.
The black or sight of the eye.
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Black
A stain; a spot; a smooch.
Defiling her white lawn of chastity with ugly blacks of lust.
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Black
To make black; to blacken; to soil; to sully.
They have their teeth blacked, both men and women, for they say a dog hath his teeth white, therefore they will black theirs.
Sins which black thy soul.
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Black
To make black and shining, as boots or a stove, by applying blacking and then polishing with a brush.
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Black
The quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
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Black
Total absence of light;
They fumbled around in total darkness
In the black of night
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Black
British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat (1728-1799)
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Black
A person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa)
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Black
Make or become black;
The smoke blackened the ceiling
The ceiling blackened
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Black
Being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light;
Black leather jackets
As black as coal
Rich black soil
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Black
Of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin;
A great people--a black people--...injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization
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Black
Stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable;
Black deeds
A black lie
His black heart has concocted yet another black deed
Darth Vader of the dark side
A dark purpose
Dark undercurrents of ethnic hostility
The scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him
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Black
Offering little or no hope;
The future looked black
Prospects were bleak
Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult
Took a dim view of things
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Black
(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin;
The stock market crashed on Black Friday
A calamitous defeat
The battle was a disastrous end to a disastrous campaign
Such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory
It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it
A fateful error
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Black
(of the face) made black especially as with suffused blood;
A face black with fury
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Black
Extremely dark;
A black moonless night
Through the pitch-black woods
It was pitch-dark in the celler
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Black
Harshly ironic or sinister;
Black humor
A grim joke
Grim laughter
Fun ranging from slapstick clowning ... to savage mordant wit
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Black
(used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame;
Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands
An ignominious retreat
Inglorious defeat
An opprobrious monument to human greed
A shameful display of cowardice
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Black
Soiled with dirt or soot;
With feet black from playing outdoors
His shirt was black within an hour
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Black
A hue representing darkness or the opposite of white.
The artist chose black for the night sky in her painting.
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Oct 19, 2023
FAQs
Is Jet Black natural?
It's named after the naturally deep-black jet gemstone.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
Does Jet Black only refer to color?
It often also implies a certain shine or luster.
Harlon Moss
Oct 30, 2023
Can Black evoke emotion?
Yes, from elegance to mourning, depending on context.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
Does Black go with everything?
Generally, it's considered neutral and versatile.
Harlon Moss
Oct 30, 2023
Why is Jet Black considered more intense?
It's deeply pigmented and often has a glossier finish.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
Is Jet Black more expensive?
Sometimes, due to specific pigments or finishes used.
Harlon Moss
Oct 30, 2023
Is Black a color or shade?
It's a color, but often called a shade in art/design.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
Can Jet Black be matte?
Typically, it has a shine, but matte versions exist.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 30, 2023
Are there cultural perspectives on Black?
Yes, varying globally from sophistication to mourning.
Janet White
Oct 30, 2023
Is Jet Black a universal description?
It's widely understood, but exact interpretations can vary.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
Is Jet Black only a recent term?
It's been used since the gemstone jet became popular.
Janet White
Oct 30, 2023
How is Jet Black created in products?
Through deep pigmentation and often a gloss treatment.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 30, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.
Edited by
Huma SaeedHuma is a renowned researcher acclaimed for her innovative work in Difference Wiki. Her dedication has led to key breakthroughs, establishing her prominence in academia. Her contributions continually inspire and guide her field.
