The term hue means ______.

• A. a shade or tone
• B. any color in its purest form
• C. brightness or luminance
• D. saturation level

Answer: (B)

Hue is the color's identity—the name of the color on the color wheel (red, blue, green, etc.). It is the color in its pure form, without additions that change lightness or vividness. When you adjust brightness (lighten/darken) or desaturate, you alter how light or vivid the color appears, but you don't change its hue. The other attributes describe brightness or saturation or the result of mixing to create shades and tones, which are not what defines the hue. So the term hue corresponds to the color's pure identity.