释义
[ mot -lee ] SHOW IPA
/ ˈmɒt li / PHONETIC RESPELLING
SEE SYNONYMS FOR motley ON THESAURUS.COM
adjective exhibiting great diversity of elements: a motley crowd.
being of different colors combined: a motley flower border.
wearing a parti-colored garment: a motley fool .
SEE MORE SEE LESS noun, plural mot·leys. a combination of different colors.
a parti-colored effect.
the parti-colored garment of a jester.
a heterogeneous assemblage.
SEE MORE SEE LESS Origin of motley First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English motele, motlay, mottelay “mixture of colors, variegated; a parti-colored garment”; of uncertain origin; perhaps akin to mote1 .See -ly
SYNONYMS FOR motley 1 heterogenous, varied, diverse, mixed, assorted, sundry; incongruous, disparate, diversified, dissimilar, divergent.
2 parti-colored, multicolored, variegated, polychromatic; pied, piebald, mottled, dappled.
8 conglomeration, hodgepodge, jumble, miscellany; olio, potpourri, pastiche, gallimaufry, farrago.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR motley ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR motley 1 homogeneous, uniform, identical; similar, like.
2 monochromatic; solid.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR motley ON THESAURUS.COM
Words nearby motley motive power, motivic, motivity, mot juste, Motlanthe, motley , motmot, moto, motocross, motofacient, moton
Definition for motley (2 of 2) [ mot -lee ] SHOW IPA
/ ˈmɒt li / PHONETIC RESPELLING
noun John Lo·throp [loh -thruh p], /ˈloʊ θrəp/, U.S. historian and diplomat. Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for motley A motley crew of former sailors led by Commodore Joshua Barney mounted the only real resistance to the British.
The Presidential Hopeful Obsessed With the War of 1812 | Ben Jacobs| September 9, 2014| DAILY BEAST
A motley crew, to be sure: Islamic states, sub-Saharan Africa, China.
At the United Nations, It’s Human Rights, Putin-Style | Jay Michaelson| June 26, 2014| DAILY BEAST
The motley crew cast participates in an illegal cross-country car race, while doing anything to win.
10 Greatest Road Trip Movies | Marina Watts| May 21, 2014| DAILY BEAST
And a motley cast of characters—is that a guy in a chicken costume?
Comedians For Diplomacy: 'Give Peace a Dance' | Ali Gharib| September 24, 2013| DAILY BEAST
Works beautifully with lids of any size, and fits under one of our motley assortment of work islands with no trouble.
The 2012 Holiday Kitchen Gift Guide | Megan McArdle| December 13, 2012| DAILY BEAST
The motley passengers were all sound asleep; no one had been disturbed by the fracas.
Pirates of the Gorm | Nat Schachner
The irruption of this motley crew with beat of drum, according to ancient custom, was the consummation of uproar and merriment.
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. | Washington Irving
Along that gorge rode a motley throng—bearded men on half-wild horses, five hundred strong, bristling with weapons.
The People of the Black Circle | Robert E. Howard
It clothed itself in motley flesh, and passed through green meadows and shady forests.
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869 | Various
We believe these to have been sincere expressions—inside his motley garb he had a heart of tenderness.
History of English Humour, Vol. 2 (of 2) | Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange
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British Dictionary definitions for motley adjective made up of elements of varying type, quality, etc
multicoloured
noun a motley collection or mixture
the particoloured attire of a jester
obsolete a jester
Word Origin for motley C14: perhaps from mot speck, mote 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Words related to motley kaleidoscopic, disparate, conglomerate, rainbow, assorted, diversified, variegated, mottled, dappled, mixed, mingled, discrepant, dissimilar, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, miscellaneous, multicolored, unlike, various, multicolor