Blue vs. Blew — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Urooj Arif — Updated on April 1, 2024
"Blue" is a color, often associated with both the sky and the sea, symbolizing depth and stability. "Blew" is the past tense of "blow," referring to air movement or the act of producing an air current, often used to describe actions influenced by force.
Difference Between Blue and Blew
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Blue" describes a primary color that is significant in various cultural, psychological, and artistic contexts. It is seen as a cool and calming color, frequently used to represent serenity, intelligence, and stability. This color has a wide range of shades and is a common choice in design and fashion for its versatility. Whereas "blew" is a verb form, specifically the past tense of "blow." It is used to describe the action of air moving naturally, such as the wind, or the act of forcing air through an opening, like blowing candles on a cake.
The usage of "blue" spans across various fields, from color theory in art to branding and psychology, where it's often associated with trust and calmness. It plays a significant role in symbolism, representing both depth, like the ocean, and vastness, like the sky. On the other hand, "blew" is primarily used in a literal sense to describe physical actions or phenomena, such as blowing a whistle, the wind blew the leaves, or a tire that blew out.
"Blue" can also carry metaphorical meanings in different contexts, such as feeling sad or melancholic, often expressed in phrases like "feeling blue." It's a color that's deeply embedded in human culture and expression. Conversely, "blew" can be used metaphorically to describe a failure or a missed opportunity, as in "blew his chance" or "blew the competition away," but its core usage remains in describing the act of blowing.
While "blue" is static, representing a constant color or state, "blew" denotes action and change, emphasizing movement or an event that has occurred. "Blue" remains unchanged across contexts, while "blew" changes form according to the tense of "blow," adapting to the time frame of the action described.
"Blue" and "blew" differ fundamentally in their nature and usage: one being a descriptive adjective related to color and the other an action verb describing movement or force. The distinction highlights the diversity of English vocabulary, where completely different concepts share phonetic similarity but diverge in meaning and application.
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Comparison Chart
Part of Speech
Adjective (color)
Verb (past tense of "blow")
Meaning
Color between green and violet
Action of moving air or gas
Usage Context
Art, design, psychology
Describing actions, events
Symbolism
Calmness, stability, sadness
Force, change, action
Example Usage
The sky is blue.
He blew out the candles.
Compare with Definitions
Blue
A color perceived when observing light with a dominant wavelength between approximately 450 and 495 nanometers.
The blue ocean stretched out endlessly.
Blew
Used to indicate the act of expelling air through the mouth.
She blew on her coffee to cool it down.
Blue
Symbolic of depth, stability, or sadness in various contexts.
She felt a deep, blue sadness after the news.
Blew
Past tense of "blow," referring to air moved naturally or by a force.
The strong wind blew the leaves from the trees.
Blue
Frequently used in expressions to denote melancholy.
Listening to the blues always calmed him.
Blew
To cause air to move or flow.
The fan blew cool air across the room.
Blue
Associated with trustworthiness and reliability in branding.
The company's logo is blue to evoke reliability.
Blew
To create a sound by forcing air through an instrument.
He blew the trumpet loudly during the concert.
Blue
A popular choice in design for its calming effects.
They painted the room blue to create a serene atmosphere.
Blew
Often used metaphorically to signify a lost opportunity.
He blew his chance to win the race by starting too slow.
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours of pigments in painting and traditional colour theory, as well as in the RGB colour model. It lies between violet and green on the spectrum of visible light.
Blew
"Blew" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the first song on the band's debut album Bleach, released in June 1989 by Sub Pop.
Blue
The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between green and indigo, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 420 to 490 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation, whose hue is that of a clear daytime sky; one of the additive or light primaries; one of the psychological primary hues.
Blew
Past tense of blow1.
Blue
A pigment or dye imparting this hue.
Blew
Past tense of blow3.
Blue
Bluing.
Blew
Past participle of blow
Blue
An object having this hue.
Blew
Obsolete form of blue
Blue
Dress or clothing of this hue
The ushers wore blue.
Blew
Obsolete form of blue
Blue
A person who wears a blue uniform.
Blue
Blues A dress blue uniform, especially that of the US Army.
Blue
A member of the Union Army in the Civil War.
Blue
The Union Army.
Blue
A bluefish.
Blue
Any of various small blue butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae.
Blue
The sky.
Blue
The sea.
Blue
Of the color blue.
Blue
Bluish or having parts that are blue or bluish, as the blue spruce and the blue whale.
Blue
Having a gray or purplish color, as from cold or contusion.
Blue
Wearing blue.
Blue
Being a trail, as for skiing, marked with a sign having a blue square, indicating an intermediate level of difficulty.
Blue
Relating to or being a blue state.
Blue
Gloomy; depressed.
Blue
Dismal; dreary
A blue day.
Blue
Puritanical; strict.
Blue
Aristocratic; patrician.
Blue
Indecent; risqué
A blue joke.
A blue movie.
Blue
To make or become blue.
Blue
Having blue as its color.
The deep blue sea
Blue
(informal) Depressed, melancholic, sad.
Blue
Pale, without redness or glare; said of a flame.
The candle burns blue.
Blue
(politics) Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by a political party represented by the colour blue.
Blue
Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by the Democratic Party.
I live in a blue constituency.
Congress turned blue in the mid-term elections.
Blue
Supportive of or related to the Liberal Party.
Illawarra turns blue in Liberal washout
Blue
(UK politics) Supportive of or related to the Conservative Party.
Blue
(astronomy) Of the higher-frequency region of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
Blue
(of steak) Extra rare; left very raw and cold.
Blue
(of a dog or cat) Having a coat of fur of a slaty gray shade.
Blue
(archaic) Severe or overly strict in morals; gloomy.
Blue and sour religionists;
Blue laws
Blue
Literary; bluestockinged.
Blue
(particle physics) Having a color charge of blue.
Blue
(informal) Risqué; obscene; profane; pornographic.
His material is too blue for prime-time
The air was blue with oaths.
A blue movie
Blue
The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea, between green and purple in the visible spectrum, and one of the primary additive colours for transmitted light; the colour obtained by subtracting red and green from white light using magenta and cyan filters; or any colour resembling this.
Blue
Anything coloured blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in color.
I don't like red Smarties. Have you got a blue?
Blue
A blue dye or pigment.
Blue
Blue clothing.
The boys in blue marched to the pipers.
Blue
(in the plural) A blue uniform. See blues.
Blue
A member of a sports team that wears blue colours; (in the plural) a nickname for the team as a whole. See also blues.
Come on you blues!
Blue
An umpire, in reference to the typical dark blue color of the umpire's uniform. Sometimes perceived by umpires as derogatory when used by players or coaches while disputing a call.
He was safe! Terrible call, blue!
Blue
Sporting colours awarded by a university or other institution for sporting achievement, such as representing one's university, especially and originally at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. See also full blue, half blue.
He excelled at rowing and received a blue in the sport at Oxford.
Blue
A person who has received such sporting colours.
He was a blue in rugby at Cambridge.
Blue
(slang) A member of law enforcement.
Blue
A bluestocking.
Blue
The sky, literally or figuratively.
The balloon floated up into the blue.
His request for leave came out of the blue.
Blue
The ocean; deep waters.
Blue
The far distance; a remote or distant place.
Blue
A dog or cat with a slaty gray coat.
Blue
(snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of five points.
Blue
(entomology) Any of the butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae in the family Lycaenidae, most of which have blue on their wings.
Blue
A bluefish.
Blue
An argument.
Blue
A liquid with an intense blue colour, added to a laundry wash to prevent yellowing of white clothes.
Blue
Any of several processes to protect metal against rust.
Blue
(British) A type of firecracker.
Blue
(particle physics) One of the three color charges for quarks.
Blue
(UK) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party.
He is a true blue.
Blue
(ergative) To make or become blue; to turn blue.
Blue
To treat the surface of steel so that it is passivated chemically and becomes more resistant to rust.
Blue
To brighten by treating with blue (laundry aid).
Blue
To fight, brawl, or argue.
Blue
To spend (money) extravagantly; to blow.
Blue
Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets.
Blue
Pale, without redness or glare, - said of a flame; hence, of the color of burning brimstone, betokening the presence of ghosts or devils; as, the candle burns blue; the air was blue with oaths.
Blue
Low in spirits; melancholy; as, to feel blue.
Blue
Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue.
Blue
Severe or over strict in morals; gloom; as, blue and sour religionists; suiting one who is over strict in morals; inculcating an impracticable, severe, or gloomy mortality; as, blue laws.
Blue
Literary; - applied to women; - an abbreviation of bluestocking.
The ladies were very blue and well informed.
For his religion . . . 'T was Presbyterian, true blue.
Blue
One of the seven colors into which the rays of light divide themselves, when refracted through a glass prism; the color of the clear sky, or a color resembling that, whether lighter or darker; a pigment having such color.
Blue
A pedantic woman; a bluestocking.
Blue
Low spirits; a fit of despondency; melancholy.
Blue
To make blue; to dye of a blue color; to make blue by heating, as metals, etc.
Blue
The color of the clear sky in the daytime;
He had eyes of bright blue
Blue
Blue clothing;
She was wearing blue
Blue
Any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are blue;
The Union army was a vast blue
Blue
The sky as viewed during daylight;
He shot an arrow into the blue
Blue
Used to whiten laundry or hair or give it a bluish tinge
Blue
The sodium salt of amobarbital that is used as a barbiturate; used as a sedative and a hypnotic
Blue
Any of numerous small chiefly blue butterflies of the family Lycaenidae
Blue
Turn blue
Blue
Having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky;
October's bright blue weather
A blue flame
Blue haze of tobacco smoke
Blue
Used to signify the Union forces in the Civil War (who wore blue uniforms);
A ragged blue line
Blue
Low in spirits;
Lonely and blue in a strange city
Depressed by the loss of his job
A dispirited and resigned expression on her face
Downcast after his defeat
Feeling discouraged and downhearted
Blue
Characterized by profanity or cursing;
Foul-mouthed and blasphemous
Blue language
Profane words
Blue
Morally rigorous and strict;
Blue laws
The puritan work ethic
Puritanic distaste for alcohol
She was anything but puritanical in her behavior
Blue
Causing dejection;
A blue day
The dark days of the war
A week of rainy depressing weather
A disconsolate winter landscape
The first dismal dispiriting days of November
A dark gloomy day
Grim rainy weather
Common Curiosities
What does "blew" mean?
"Blew" is the past tense of "blow," used to describe the action of air moving or being forced out.
What part of speech is "blew"?
"Blew" is a verb, specifically the past tense of "blow."
How do "blue" and "blew" differ in symbolism?
"Blue" symbolizes calmness, stability, and sometimes sadness, whereas "blew" lacks symbolic meaning but can metaphorically represent action, change, or failure.
What part of speech is "blue"?
"Blue" is an adjective, describing a color.
Can "blew" be used in a positive context?
Yes, "blew" can be used positively, as in "blew the competition away," indicating a significant victory or achievement.
Are there any cultural associations with "blue"?
Yes, "blue" has various cultural associations, including trust, calmness, and in some cultures, it is associated with royalty or spirituality.
Is "blue" always associated with sadness?
While "blue" can symbolize sadness in some contexts, it also represents serenity, trust, and depth, depending on the usage.
What does "blue" represent?
"Blue" represents a color, often associated with depth, stability, and serenity, but can also symbolize sadness.
Can "blue" have different shades?
Yes, "blue" has many shades, from light sky blue to deep navy, each with its own symbolic and aesthetic significance.
In what contexts is "blew" used?
"Blew" is used in contexts describing air movement, such as the wind blowing, blowing a whistle, or metaphorically to describe failure or missed opportunities.
Can "blue" be used in branding?
Yes, "blue" is often used in branding to evoke feelings of reliability, trust, and professionalism.
What is an example of "blew" in a sentence?
"The wind blew so hard that it knocked over the garden furniture."
How can "blew" be used metaphorically?
"Blew" can be used metaphorically to describe failing to take advantage of an opportunity or surpassing something with force.
Is "blew" always related to literal air movement?
While "blew" often describes literal air movement, it can also be used metaphorically or to describe the act of producing sound through instruments.
Does the meaning of "blue" change in different contexts?
While the core meaning of "blue" as a color remains constant, its symbolic implications can vary significantly depending on the context.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
