Black vs. Silver — What's the Difference?

A color that absorbs all light and does not reflect any, appearing dark.

A metallic element with a shiny white luster that is highly conductive.

Describing a total absence of light.

Indicative of second place in competitions.

Often associated with elegance and formality in clothing.

Pertaining to coins and money, historically.

Used metaphorically to describe something negative or illicit.

Descriptive of hair that has turned grey or white with age.

A racial descriptor for people of African descent.

Symbolic of high-tech and futuristic concepts.

Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and gray.

Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin argentum, derived from the Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ: "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.

Of the very darkest colour owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light; the opposite of white

Symbol Ag A lustrous white, ductile, malleable metallic element, occurring both uncombined and in ores such as argentite, having the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals. It is highly valued for jewelry, tableware, and other ornamental use and is widely used in coinage, photography, dental and soldering alloys, electrical contacts, and printed circuits. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 961.78°C; boiling point 2,162°C; specific gravity 10.50 (20°C); valence 1, 2. See Periodic Table.

Belonging to or denoting any human group having dark-coloured skin, especially of African or Australian Aboriginal ancestry

This metallic element as a commodity or medium of exchange.

Characterized by tragic or disastrous events; causing despair or pessimism

Coins made of this metallic element.

Denoting a covert military procedure

A medal made of silver awarded to one placing second in a competition, as in the Olympics.

(of goods or work) not to be handled or undertaken by trade union members, especially so as to express support for an industrial dispute elsewhere

Domestic articles, such as tableware, made of or plated with silver.

Black colour or pigment

Tableware, especially eating and serving utensils, made of steel or another metal.

A member of a dark-skinned people, especially one of African or Australian Aboriginal ancestry

A lustrous medium gray.

The situation of not owing money to a bank or of making a profit in a business operation

A silver salt, especially silver nitrate, used to sensitize paper.

Blackcurrant cordial

Made of or containing silver

Make (something) black, especially with polish

Resembling silver, especially in having a lustrous shine; silvery.

Refuse to handle (goods), undertake (work), or have dealings with (a person or business) as a way of taking industrial action

Of a lustrous medium gray

Being of the color black, producing or reflecting comparatively little light and having no predominant hue.

Having a soft, clear, resonant sound.

Having little or no light

Eloquent; persuasive

Of or belonging to a racial group having brown to black skin, especially one of African origin

Favoring the adoption of silver as a standard of currency

Of or belonging to an American ethnic group descended from African peoples having dark skin; African American.

Of or constituting a 25th anniversary.

Very dark in color

To cover, plate, or adorn with silver or a similar lustrous substance.

Being a trail, as for skiing, marked with a sign having a black diamond, indicating a high level of difficulty.

To give a silver color to.

Soiled, as from soot; dirty

To coat (photographic paper) with a film of silver nitrate or other silver salt.

Evil; wicked

To become silvery.

Cheerless and depressing; gloomy

(uncountable) A lustrous, white, metallic element, atomic number 47, atomic weight 107.87, symbol Ag.

Being or characterized by morbid or grimly satiric humor

Coins made from silver or any similar white metal.

Marked by anger or sullenness

Cutlery and other eating utensils, whether silver or made from some other white metal.

Attended with disaster; calamitous

Any items made from silver or any other white metal.

Deserving of, indicating, or incurring censure or dishonor

(uncountable) A shiny gray color.

Wearing clothing of the darkest visual hue

(countable) a silver medal

Served without milk or cream

Anything resembling silver; something shiny and white.

Appearing to emanate from a source other than the actual point of origin. Used chiefly of intelligence operations

Made from silver.

Disclosed, for reasons of security, only to an extremely limited number of authorized persons; very highly classified

Made from another white metal.

Chiefly British Boycotted as part of a labor union action.

Having a color like silver: a shiny gray.

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.

Denoting the twenty-fifth anniversary, especially of a wedding.

A pigment or dye having this color value.

(of commercial services) Premium, but inferior to gold.

Complete or almost complete absence of light; darkness.

Having the clear, musical tone of silver; soft and clear in sound.

Clothing of the darkest hue, especially such clothing worn for mourning.

To acquire a silvery colour.

A member of a racial group having brown to black skin, especially one of African origin.

To cover with silver, or with a silvery metal.

An American descended from peoples of African origin having brown to black skin; an African American.

To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver.

Something that is colored black.

To make hoary, or white, like silver.

The black-colored pieces, as in chess or checkers.

A soft white metallic element, sonorous, ductile, very malleable, and capable of a high degree of polish. It is found native, and also combined with sulphur, arsenic, antimony, chlorine, etc., in the minerals argentite, proustite, pyrargyrite, ceragyrite, etc. Silver is one of the "noble" metals, so-called, not being easily oxidized, and is used for coin, jewelry, plate, and a great variety of articles. Symbol Ag (Argentum). Atomic weight 107.7. Specific gravity 10.5.

The player using these pieces.

Coin made of silver; silver money.

The condition of making or operating at a profit

Anything having the luster or appearance of silver.

To make black

The color of silver.

To apply blacking to

Of or pertaining to silver; made of silver; as, silver leaf; a silver cup.

Chiefly British To boycott as part of a labor union action.

Resembling silver.

To become black.

Precious; costly.

(of an object) Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.

To cover with silver; to give a silvery appearance to by applying a metal of a silvery color; as, to silver a pin; to silver a glass mirror plate with an amalgam of tin and mercury.

(of a place, etc) Without light.

To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver.

(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.

To make hoary, or white, like silver.

(US) Belonging to or descended from any of various sub-Saharan African ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin.

To acquire a silvery color.

Designated for use by those ethnic groups (as described above).

A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography

Of the spades or clubs suits. Compare of the hearts or diamonds suit

Coins made of silver

Bad; evil; ill-omened.

A light shade of gray

Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen.

Silverware eating utensils

(of objects, markets, etc) Illegitimate, illegal or disgraced.

A medal made of silver (or having the appearance of silver) that is usually awarded for winning second place in a competition

Foul; dirty, soiled.

Coat with a layer of silver or a silver amalgam;

Overcrowded.

Make silver in color;

(of coffee or tea) Without any cream, milk, or creamer.

Turn silver;

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.

Made from or largely consisting of silver;

(politics) Anarchist; of or pertaining to anarchism.

Having the white lustrous sheen of silver;

(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.

Lustrous gray; covered with or tinged with the color of silver;

(politics) Related to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany.

Expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively;

Clandestine; relating to a political, military, or espionage operation or site, the existence or details of which is withheld from the general public.

Occult; relating to something (such as mystical or magical knowledge) which is unknown to or kept secret from the general public.

Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic. 1=Compare blackmouth ("Presbyterian").

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.

The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed.

A black dye or pigment.

(countable) A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment.

(in the plural) Black cloth hung up at funerals.

A member of descendant of any of various (African, Aboriginal, etc) ethnic groups which typically have dark pigmentation of the skin. See usage notes.

(informal) Blackness, the condition of belonging to or being descended from one of these ethnic groups.

The black ball.

The edge of home plate.

A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour.

, especially as syrup or crème de cassis used for cocktails.

The person playing with the black set of pieces.

(countable) Something, or a part of a thing, which is black.

A stain; a spot.

A dark smut fungus, harmful to wheat.

Marijuana.

(transitive) To make black; to blacken.

(transitive) To apply blacking to (something).

To boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.

(pornography) of a white woman To be fucked by a black man.

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.

In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the heavens black with clouds.

Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness; destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked; cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible.

Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen; foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.

Sullenly; threateningly; maliciously; so as to produce blackness.

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.

A black pigment or dye.

A negro; a person whose skin is of a black color, or shaded with black; esp. a member or descendant of certain African races.

The part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest by being black.

A stain; a spot; a smooch.

To make black; to blacken; to soil; to sully.

To make black and shining, as boots or a stove, by applying blacking and then polishing with a brush.

The quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)

Total absence of light;

British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat (1728-1799)

Popular child actress of the 1930's (born 1927)

A person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa)

(board games) the darker pieces

Black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning);

Make or become black;

Being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light;

Of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin;

Marked by anger or resentment or hostility;

Stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable;

Offering little or no hope;

(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin;

Extremely dark;

Harshly ironic or sinister;

(of intelligence operations) deliberately misleading;

Distributed or sold illicitly;

(used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame;

(of coffee) without cream or sugar

Dressed in black;

Soiled with dirt or soot;

Black absorbs more heat due to its color properties, while silver reflects most heat.

Artists use black for depth and contrast, while silver is used to add highlights and create a sense of illumination.

Black is commonly used in automotive, fashion, and electronic devices for its aesthetic and functional qualities.

Silver often symbolizes modernity, technological advancement, and sophistication.

Black is often seen as sleek and professional, while silver is viewed as modern and cutting-edge.

Black is universally seen as a color of mourning and formality, while silver is often associated with festivities and celebration.

Black appears entirely dark as it absorbs all light, whereas silver is shiny and reflective.

Yes, combining black and silver can create a visually striking contrast, often used in modern and sleek design themes.

Black conveys sophistication, authority, and formality, making it ideal for business and gala attire.

Historically, silver was extensively used in photography for developing film, a use that has declined with the rise of digital technology.

Black items are less prone to showing smudges and fingerprints, whereas silver items require frequent polishing to maintain their luster.

The bright, reflective quality of silver makes it appealing for decorative and aesthetic purposes in jewelry.

Recycling processes for black-colored plastics can be complex due to the presence of carbon black, while silver requires chemical recovery methods.

Black tends to make objects look smaller and slimmer, while silver can make them appear larger and more prominent.

The production of black pigments can involve polluting processes, whereas silver mining and refinement have significant ecological footprints.