miscellaneous

adjective mis·cel·la·neous \ 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

—

miscellaneously

adverb

—

miscellaneousness

noun

See miscellaneous defined for English-language learners

See miscellaneous defined for kids

Examples of miscellaneous in a Sentence

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
The sandhogs' word for a miscellaneous happening in which a sandhog is injured is mishap. —Alec Wilkinson, Double Take, Summer 2001
… 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
a miscellaneous collection of tools
the bottom of the drawer was always a miscellaneous accumulation of odds and ends

Recent Examples of miscellaneous from the Web

Not pictured are the other fun new human, animal, mythical creature, clothing, and miscellaneous other emojis to come.

— tess koman, Cosmopolitan, "Apple Is Fiiinally Rolling Out These Magical Emojis and Here's How You Can Get Them," 6 Oct. 2017
An additional $9 million in revenue came from tour fees, merchandise sales, space rentals, royalties, recording fees and miscellaneous activities.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "CSO in solid shape despite seventh consecutive deficit," 1 Nov. 2017
Missing was a projector valued at $1,150, miscellaneous decorations valued at $250 and 150 pounds of aquarium live rock, valued at $7 a pound.

— bob dohr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Oak Creek Police Report: Couple has sex in vehicle in South Shore Cinema parking lot," 18 Oct. 2017
Rajon Rondo has never been the solution for a team trying to get over the hump, and a slew of miscellaneous wing players will have to provide enough shooting and defense to bridge the gap.

— jeremy woo, SI.com, "Will the Rockets Prove to Be the Warriors' Biggest Threat?," 5 Oct. 2017
Initially, Kurin recalls, the concept was much less daring: the museum would simply house miscellaneous Smithsonian artifacts, a gesture to show that the Institution cared about regions like Anacostia.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "How This Washington, D.C. Museum Redefined What Museums Could Be," 20 Sep. 2017
The lack of support staff often means counselors pick up miscellaneous duties, from sharpening testing pencils to distributing medication.

— alia wong, The Atlantic, "The Controversy Behind Chicago's Diploma Mandate," 14 Sep. 2017
That’s opened the door to imitations made cheaply from miscellaneous ingredients including Fentanyl, a pain-killer and anesthetic that’s up to 100 times more powerful than Morphine.

— deborah sullivan brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Xanax abuse creeps into schools," 2 Nov. 2017
The program does not cover the approximately $15,000 remaining total cost to attend a year of college for students who do not live at home — expenses such as room and board, books and other miscellaneous items.

— karen herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "UW-Madison launching free tuition program for first-generation transfer students," 22 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'miscellaneous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.