1
as in eclectic
consisting of many things of different sorts
a ship with a motley crew of old salts, young adventurers, and shifty characters of all ages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in colorful
marked by a variety of usually vivid colors
a tropical bird with motley plumage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in assortment
an unorganized collection or mixture of various things
a motley of old junk stored in the attic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motley
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Masterminded by nonprofit organization War Child and produced by Brian Eno, the album brought together a motley group of big-ticket artists—Radiohead, the Chemical Brothers, the Stone Roses, Paul McCartney—and raised over a million pounds for children caught in the Bosnian war.
—Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 18 Mar. 2026
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
This made us—with all our human, mortal limitations—rather like the God of all those past centuries of belief, or should that be credulity: the God who retained and stored away everything in his motley, moveless time, in which nothing was new or old, remote or recent.
—Margaret Jull Costa, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for motley
Adjective
The result is a scathing takedown that will find techies throughout the Valley looking over their shoulders and speculating on who is who amongst the show’s motley collection of fictional backstabbers obsessed with growing their profit margin and amassing wealth and power.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Masterminded by nonprofit organization War Child and produced by Brian Eno, the album brought together a motley group of big-ticket artists—Radiohead, the Chemical Brothers, the Stone Roses, Paul McCartney—and raised over a million pounds for children caught in the Bosnian war.
—Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 18 Mar. 2026
Noun
Her goal is to start a women’s consciousness-raising group, and her efforts have brought together a motley, inquisitive quintet.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
This made us—with all our human, mortal limitations—rather like the God of all those past centuries of belief, or should that be credulity: the God who retained and stored away everything in his motley, moveless time, in which nothing was new or old, remote or recent.
—Margaret Jull Costa, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for motley
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motley
Adjective
-
The audiobook is a selling point for many readers because of the range of distinct voices Hays creates for the eclectic cast of characters.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
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But the city also is home to some museums that speak to Atlanta’s eclectic side.—
Karon Warren,
AJC.com,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Sprouting from its Inlet Parking Lot, the historic Boardwalk features a lively mix of colorful shops, enticing restaurants, arcades and more.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
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Plants with colorful or fragrant blooms attract insects for pollination, and are less likely to affect allergies.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Don’t let the simple style fool you, though, because the ultra-soft foam insoles provide solid arch support.—
Caitlyn Fitzpatrick,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
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Brute-forcing the one-time code for a single account—meaning iterating through every possible combination until the right one is entered—would be little more than a fool’s errand, even within the three-hour window that the codes remained valid.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
4 June 2026
Noun
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But even that speculative scheme showed how sophisticated PAU could be in adapting an assortment of seductive pasts.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
8 June 2026
-
Your host has invested time and energy into planning a thoughtful menu and bringing your own dish forces them to include something in the assortment that may not be harmonious with the rest of the meal.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
The important thing is to keep eating vegetables and maintaining a varied but healthy diet.—
Vanessa Caceres,
Verywell Health,
10 June 2026
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These frameworks are aimed at deploying knowledge that can be applied in varied settings and are diverse or multimodal.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
The telegram’s design is joyful and vivid, featuring illustrations of tiny hands tossing multi-colored hats and flowers into the air in a gesture of congratulation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
The throwback elements of Rush’s show – the zigzagging colored lasers, the bursts of pyro that momentarily stunned with their booms, the gratification of watching musicians so focused on their music that running around the stage was not an option – reminded of a simpler era of concert-going.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
The final Scary Movie trailer opens with a fittingly grotesque send-up of Terrifier, the ultra-bloody, low-budget clown slasher that's built a cult following.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
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What appears to be a Unitree G1 humanoid robot wearing a blue clown wig can be seen confidently executing a roundhouse kick — squarely in the stomach of a young child in the audience, causing the kid to double over in pain.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.—
Madison Chapman,
Outside,
25 Mar. 2026
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Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Motley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motley. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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