Can eyes change color? What is the term for this?

Hazel eye color does, I used to tell people I had mood eyes. They have been dark brown, to light green with yellow specks. I noticed that it seemed to change related to situation or mood. I thought it was unique until I found out this is the characteristic of hazel eyes.
In North America, “hazel” is often used to describe eyes that appear to change color, ranging from light brown to green and even gray, depending on current lighting in the environment.

In North America, “hazel” is often used to describe eyes that appear to change color, ranging from light brown to green and even gray, depending on current lighting in the environment

yeah I have hazel eyes. When I wear red they seem to be more yellow and when I’m sad they seem to be very green. My eyes look weird though because the top half is a goldish brown and the bottom half is a tealish green

I’m pretty sure they do. I have weird eyes, a a bit of hazel, a bit of green and a bit of blue and which colour wins is normally a question of energy levels (tired, stressed, rested..) as well as what colours I’m wearing.

why do u spell colors like this: colours? It sounds french lol

just be glad I don’t go all out and spell it coulours…....I figured I’d compromise, given the majority of users here are in the U.S.
French I think it’d be more like couleur

haha. Ok thanks for compromising

no prob…...like my eyes, I adapt to my surroundings :P

Colours is the Brit. way. Flavour, lift, brollie, boot (car trunk), theatre, etc. I have hazel eyes and they alter slightly depending on colour I am wearing. (And there are the Greek diphthongs; ie; encyclopaedia.)

Many authors of fiction write about characters w. gray eyes. I have never known what they meant.My kids have leonine eyes – brown, yellow, gold glints.

the phenomenon where the the iris changes color towards the pupil is called central heterochromia.

@delrium…interesting mine do that now. I was born with blue eyes, they changed to a blue grey when I was about 6. Then they gradually turned green when I was in High School and have gotten a more vivid green over the years. Recently I noticed that I have a brown ring in the center that wasn’t there before.

@gail the way I heard it, when the colonies separated from Britain, one of the things they did to protest was to drop the u in several words, making American English different than British English. Anyone else out there have anything to back this up?

Its caused by ingesting a toxin that your body cannot manage to get rid of.
I have it too. I was bit by a nasty poisonous spider when I was a kid.

realy? What other toxins could cause that?

Yes and I don’t know. It’d have to be pretty damn serious.

Weimeriner’s ( type of dog) change from blue to amber

These are all great answers. But is Hazel the accepted term? A lot of definitions of Hazel that I’ve encountered mention only that the color changes within the eye – from the outside of the iris to the inside, and NOT from moment to moment.

I also hear a lot about eyes changing color throughout ones’ life. What I’m concerned with is: Is there a scientific term for my eyes changing color throughout the day?

atr408; I am so glad to know that I;m not the only one whose eyes turn bright green when they get upset!

This is a great question. My eyes also change color throughout the day and I have always wondered about this. I inherited it from my mom, who also has this trait. Her eyes are usually green, but I always know when she’s tired because her irises turn yellow. Mine vary in color from gray, green, blue, etc. I never know what eye color to pick on forms.

I’m also interested to know if there is a scientific term for this phenomenon. It seems common enough, if a bit unusual.

according to wikipedia (which I do find as a reliable source) grey eyes, which are often mistook for hazel (as with my eyes that I always say are hazel even though they usually look blue), do tend to change colors based on time of day, surroundings, and possibly mood because of the amount of melinin your body is able to produce at certain times.