miscellaneous

mis·cel·la·neous

adjective \ˌmi-sə-ˈlā-nē-əs, -nyəs\

Definition of MISCELLANEOUS

1

: consisting of diverse things or members : heterogeneous

2

a : having various traits

b : dealing with or interested in diverse subjects <as a writer I was too miscellaneous — George Santayana>

— mis·cel·la·neous·ly adverb

— mis·cel·la·neous·ness noun

Examples of MISCELLANEOUS

1. a miscellaneous collection of tools
2. <the bottom of the drawer was always a miscellaneous accumulation of odds and ends>
3. The coyotes, in other words, also munched rabbits, woodchucks, meadow mice, deer mice, jumping mice, and freelance miscellaneous booty like frogs and fallen apples and muskrats, … —Edward Hoagland, Harper's, June 2007
4. The sandhogs' word for a miscellaneous happening in which a sandhog is injured is mishap. —Alec Wilkinson, Double Take, Summer 2001
5. … we came upon what must have been his camp, a rather elaborate shelter made of lashed saplings and covered with plastic sheeting; empty Clorox bottles were scattered around, along with rope, canned goods, and what Huck Finn would have called his traps—the miscellaneous pots, clothing, and whatnot that you lug around through life. —Franklin Burroughs, The River Home, 1992

Origin of MISCELLANEOUS

Latin miscellaneus, from miscellus mixed

First Known Use: 1637

Related to MISCELLANEOUS

Synonyms

assorted, eclectic, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, kitchen-sink, magpie, mixed, motley, patchwork, piebald, promiscuous, raggle-taggle, ragtag, varied

Antonyms

homogeneous

Related Words

manifold, multifarious; multiple, multiplex, myriad; disparate, divergent, diverse, sundry, various; chaotic, cluttered, confused, disarranged, disarrayed, disheveled (or dishevelled), disordered, farraginous, jumbled, littered, messed, messy, muddled; amalgamated, blended, combined, commingled, commixed, conglomerated, fused, incorporated, intermingled, intermixed, merged, mingled; composite, conglomerate, hybrid; unclassified, unsorted

Near Antonyms

monolithic, uniform; alike, identical, like, same; distinct, distinctive, individual, separate

Rhymes with MISCELLANEOUS

instantaneous, simultaneous, subcutaneous