MOTLEY
Dictionary entry overview: What does motley mean?
• MOTLEY (noun)
The noun MOTLEY has 3 senses:
1. a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
2. a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume)
3. a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England
Familiarity information: MOTLEY used as a noun is uncommon.
• MOTLEY (adjective)
The adjective MOTLEY has 2 senses:
1. consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds (even to the point of incongruity)
2. having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly
Familiarity information: MOTLEY used as an adjective is rare.
• MOTLEY (verb)
The verb MOTLEY has 2 senses:
1. make something more diverse and varied
2. make motley; color with different colors
Familiarity information: MOTLEY used as a verb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• MOTLEY (noun)
Meaning:
A collection containing a variety of sorts of things
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Synonyms:
salmagundi; potpourri; motley; variety; mixed bag; miscellany; miscellanea; assortment; smorgasbord; mixture
Context examples:
a great assortment of cars was on display / he had a variety of disorders / a veritable smorgasbord of religions
Hypernyms ("motley" is a kind of...):
accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "motley"):
grab bag (an assortment of miscellaneous items)
witch's brew; witches' brew; witches' broth (a fearsome mixture)
range (a variety of different things or activities)
selection (an assortment of things from which a choice can be made)
farrago; gallimaufry; hodgepodge; hotchpotch; melange; mingle-mangle; mishmash; oddments; odds and ends; omnium-gatherum; ragbag (a motley assortment of things)
alphabet soup (a confusing assortment)
sampler (an assortment of various samples)
Meaning:
A garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("motley" is a kind of...):
garment (an article of clothing)
Meronyms (substance of "motley"):
motley (a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England)
Meaning:
A multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("motley" is a kind of...):
cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)
Holonyms ("motley" is a substance of...):
motley (a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume))
• MOTLEY (adjective)
Meaning:
Consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds (even to the point of incongruity)
Synonyms:
assorted; motley; sundry; miscellaneous; mixed
Context examples:
an arrangement of assorted spring flowers / assorted sizes / miscellaneous accessories / a mixed program of baroque and contemporary music / a motley crew / sundry sciences commonly known as social
Similar:
heterogeneous; heterogenous (consisting of elements that are not of the same kind or nature)
Meaning:
Having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly
Synonyms:
multicolour; multicoloured; particolored; particoloured; piebald; pied; multicolored; multicolor; multi-coloured; multi-colour; multi-colored; multi-color; varicoloured; varicolored; calico; motley; painted
Context examples:
a jester dressed in motley / the painted desert / a particolored dress / a piebald horse / pied daisies
Similar:
colored; colorful; coloured (having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination)
• MOTLEY (verb)
Meaning:
Make something more diverse and varied
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
motley; variegate; vary
Context example:
Vary the menu
Hypernyms (to "motley" is one way to...):
diversify (make (more) diverse)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "motley"):
checker; chequer (variegate with different colors, shades, or patterns)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Make motley; color with different colors
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
parti-color; motley
Hypernyms (to "motley" is one way to...):
color; color in; colorise; colorize; colour; colour in; colourise; colourize (add color to)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
