Motley

Quick meaning: Motley is an adjective meaning Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity.

Meaning

Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity.

More Meanings

1. Having many colours; variegated.
2. An incongruous mixture.
3. (uncountable) A jester's multicoloured clothes.
4. (countable, figuratively, by extension) A jester; a fool.
5. (transitive) To give something a patchwork appearance.
6. (transitive, figuratively, by extension) To make something multicolored, variegated, or diverse in character.

Example Sentences

Wil you be married, Motley?

I met a fool i' th' forest, / A motley' fool.

Alas, 'tis true, I have gone here and there, / And made myself a motley to the view, […]

Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,[…]. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.

Word Forms

• motlier
• motleyer
• motliest
• motleyest
• motleys
• motleying
• motleyed

Synonyms for motley

Depending on context, synonyms include heterogeneous, diverse, manifold, catholic, dishomogeneous, diversified.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include assorted, miscellaneous, miscellany, miscellanea, potpourri, heterogeneous.

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