Synonyms for motley
- adjective
- noun
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Heterogeneous — comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity
heterogeneous, mixed, miscellaneous, assorted, varied, diverse, eclectic, diversified, multifarious, various, sundry, different, promiscuous, manifold, variable, dissimilar, divers formal dated
2. Variegated — having many colours; variegated
variegated, colorful US, colourful UK, multi-colored, multicolored US, multicoloured UK, piebald, kaleidoscopic, multicolor US, multicolour UK, multi-coloured, rainbow, rainbow-colored US, rainbow coloured UK, polychromatic, prismatic, pied, dappled, painted, calico, parti-colored, particolored US, particoloured UK, polychrome, varicolored US, varicoloured UK, aurora-colored, discolored US, discoloured UK, multihued, multicolorous
Other
Noun
1. Miscellany
miscellany, hodgepodge, assortment, smorgasbord, variety, mix bag, mixture, potpourri, medley, omnium-gatherum, gallimaufry, miscellanea, salmagundi, jumble, pastiche, olio, farrago, oddments, ragbag
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity.
- adj. 2
Having many colours; variegated.
- n. 1
An incongruous mixture.
Related words
- Word family
- mottled
- Phrases
- motley fool motley crew
Forms
- Plural
- motleys → miscellanies, hodgepodges, assortments, smorgasbords…
Example sentences
- varied The prices of commodities varied every week then.
- miscellaneous I keep all my miscellaneous files in this folder.
- assorted The butcher shop sells assorted cuts of meat.
- heterogeneous It's a heterogeneous group, not a homogeneous one.
- variegated Ziri has many variegated varieties of ivy.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| motley | rising | |
| varied | falling | |
| miscellaneous | falling | |
| assorted | steady | |
| heterogeneous | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- pied1, olio
- 5 letters
- mixed1
- 6 letters
- varied2, divers2, medley2, calico3, sundry2, jumble2, ragbag
- 7 letters
- various3, variety4, painted2, diverse2, mixture2, rainbow2, dappled, piebald2, farrago
- 8 letters
- variable4, colorful3, eclectic3, assorted3, manifold3, pastiche2, oddments
- 9 letters
- different3, colourful, prismatic3, potpourri3, multihued
- 10 letters
- assortment3, dissimilar4, variegated4, discolored3, miscellany4, multicolor4, hodgepodge2, polychrome3, salmagundi
- 11 letters
- diversified4, promiscuous3, smorgasbord3, discoloured, miscellanea, multicolour, gallimaufry, varicolored
- 12 letters
- multicolored4, multifarious, particolored, varicoloured
- 13 letters
- miscellaneous5, heterogeneous5, kaleidoscopic, multicoloured, polychromatic, particoloured, multicolorous
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (varied2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- bigarré
- Español
- multicolor
- Deutsch
- kunterbunt