Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Adjective: motley (motlier,motliest)  mót-lee
  1. Consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    "a motley crew";
    - assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, sundry
     
  2. Having sections or patches coloured differently and usually brightly
    "a jester dressed in motley";
    - calico, multicolor [US], multi-color [US], multicolour [Brit, Cdn], multi-colour [Brit, Cdn], multicolored [US], multi-colored [US], multicoloured [Brit, Cdn], multi-coloured [Brit, Cdn], painted, particolored [US], particoloured [Brit, Cdn], piebald, pied, varicolored [US], varicoloured [Brit, Cdn]
Noun: motley  mót-lee
  1. A collection containing many different types of things
    "a great motley of cars was on display";
    - assortment, mixture, mixed bag [informal], miscellany, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri, smörgåsbord
     
  2. A garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume)
     
  3. A multicoloured woollen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England
Verb: motley  mót-lee
  1. Make something more diverse and varied
    - vary, variegate
     
  2. Make motley; colour with different colours
    - parti-color [US]

Derived forms: motleyed, motleying, motliest, motleys, motlier

See also: colored [US], colorful [US], coloured [Brit, Cdn], colourful [Brit, Cdn], heterogeneous, heterogenous [non-standard]

Type of: accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, cloth, collection, color [US], color in [US], colorise [Brit], colorize [US], colour [Brit, Cdn], colour in [Brit, Cdn], colourise [Brit], colourize [Brit, Cdn], diversify, fabric, garment, material, textile

Encyclopedia: Motley, Minnesota