| 单词 | motley |
| 释义 | motley (once / 1276 pages) adjnv If you've encountered the word motley, it's most likely in the phrase "motley crew," which means a diverse and poorly organized group. Think of a band of pirates, or the assorted characters who became The Fellowship of the Ring. In contemporary usage, motley can be used in virtually any context as a synonym for mismatched, heterogeneous, or ragtag. But the word was first used to describe multicolored fabric, especially the type of material used in a jester's costume. This distinctive apparel was a sign of the fool's place outside the class system — and, in the Elizabethan era, it signified that the jester was beyond the sumptuary laws that determined who could wear what. Thus, the fool had the exceptional ability to speak freely, even to royalty. WORD FAMILYmotley: motleyed, motleyest, motleys USAGE EXAMPLESMiami senior Adrienne Motley calls Newport News, Virginia home, but she was also born in the Netherlands. Seattle Times(Dec 27, 2016) “It’s like a witch hunt,” says Kimberley Motley, the pilot’s American lawyer. Wall Street Journal(Dec 26, 2016) Motley was 8 of 9 from the floor. Washington Times(Dec 20, 2016) 1adj consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds a motley crew Syn assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, sundry heterogeneous, heterogenous consisting of elements that are not of the same kind or nature 2adj having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly a jester dressed in motley Syn calico, multi-color, multi-colored, multi-colour, multi-coloured, multicolor, multicolored, multicolour, multicoloured, painted, particolored, particoloured, piebald, pied, varicolored, varicoloured colored, colorful, coloured having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination 3n a collection containing a variety of sorts of things Syn|Hypo|Hyper assortment, miscellanea, miscellany, mixed bag, mixture, potpourri, salmagundi, smorgasbord, variety grab bag an assortment of miscellaneous items witch's brew, witches' brew, witches' brotha fearsome mixture rangea variety of different things or activities selectionan assortment of things from which a choice can be made farrago, gallimaufry, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, melange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, oddments, odds and ends, omnium-gatherum, ragbaga motley assortment of things alphabet soupa confusing assortment sampleran assortment of various samples banda range of frequencies between two limits accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, collection several things grouped together or considered as a whole 4n a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England Hyper cloth, fabric, material, textile artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers 5n a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume) Hyper garment an article of clothing 6v make something more diverse and varied Syn|Hypo|Hyper variegate, vary checker, chequer variegate with different colors, shades, or patterns diversify make (more) diverse 7v make motley; color with different colors Syn|Hyper parti-color color, color in, colorise, colorize, colour, colour in, colourise, colourize add color to |
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