colour (v)

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to help to me to make a right choice of a interpretation of the verb colour in the sentence below?

They seemed to have no sense of decency, these children; everything they said or did was coloured with an ugly vicious, as if their mind were forever rooting after filth.

Here a few synonyms of the verb in question:

colour = 1/ crayon, dye, paint, stain, tinge, tint 2/ blush, flush, redden 3/ affect, distort, exaggerate, falsify, pervert

I give preference to affect, distort and pervert so I am in difficulties to make a suitable choice.

V.

[Rover_KE]

Your choice is correct, but the bolded phrase is ungrammatical.

'. . .everything they said or did was coloured with an ugly viciousness' would make sense.

Rover

[vil]

Hi Rover KE,

Thank you for your due emendation.

V.