mélange

noun

mé·​lange mā-ˈlänj  mā-ˈläⁿzh 

: a mixture often of incongruous elements

a mélange of architectural styles

Did you know?

Mélange got mixed into the melting pot of English back in the 1600s. It derives from the Middle French verb mesler, which means "to mix." "Mélange" is actually one of several French contributions to the English body of words for miscellaneous mixtures. "Pastiche" (meaning "a composition made up of selections of different works," or broadly, "a disorderly mixture, hodgepodge") is borrowed from French, and "medley" and "potpourri" have roots in French, too. There's also the lesser known "gallimaufry" (meaning "hodgepodge"), which comes from the Middle French galimafree (meaning "stew").

Synonyms of mélange

• medley
• jumble
• collage
• variety

Examples of mélange in a Sentence

a mélange of colors and shapes

a mélange of architectural styles

Recent Examples on the Web

This mordant melange takes off from the opening sequence, when Niaz finds himself at a casting call for an indie directed by Aza (Elene Mausuradze), an androgynous female director with the pallid look of a Tim Burton extra. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026

On the contrary, its unformed shape and melange of styles add to the sense that Teng is actively searching for the answer to that question with every cut. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026

That means the most popular looks on the cobbled, bicycle-laden streets of the capital are a melange of matchy, well-fitting staples and edgier throwbacks. — Alexandra Pereira, Travel + Leisure, 10 July 2026

Castaneda, Marshall writes, made an end run around the department’s Yaqui expert, with the other committee members overly impressed by his au courant melange of fieldwork and gauzy ruminations, despite the fact that his timelines and grasp of mycology didn’t make sense. — Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "act of mixing, mixture," going back to Middle French meslinges, meslanges (plural), from mesler, meler "to mix" + -ange, deverbal action noun suffix (as in Old French loange "praise," vuidange "emptying, outlet"), borrowed from Old Low Franconian *-inga-, *-unga-, going back to Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō — more at meddle, -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

mélange

noun

mé·​lange mā-ˈlänzh  -ˈlänj 

: a mixture often of dissimilar elements