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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motley
Ely Ratner, Foreign Affairs, 27 May 2025
Around that time, minimalist artist Donald Judd established a base here, and in the decades since, a parade of galleries, stores, and restaurants have popped up to serve a motley group of locals, part-timers, and tourists.
—Rachel Monroe, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Esha Chhabra, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
His tall, broad-shouldered hunchback stomps around the court in the multi-colored motley teasing his master and his henchmen with seeming good-natured gaiety.
—Bill Hirschman, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for motley
Adjective
Founded in 1954, SEATO was a motley alliance among Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
—Ely Ratner, Foreign Affairs, 27 May 2025
Around that time, minimalist artist Donald Judd established a base here, and in the decades since, a parade of galleries, stores, and restaurants have popped up to serve a motley group of locals, part-timers, and tourists.
—Rachel Monroe, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
With a total team of 25 today, Schaper is trying to juggle a motley of distribution channels, each with their own unique needs and processes.
—Esha Chhabra, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
His tall, broad-shouldered hunchback stomps around the court in the multi-colored motley teasing his master and his henchmen with seeming good-natured gaiety.
—Bill Hirschman, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for motley
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motley
Adjective
-
Fantastic Fest has announced the film lineup for its 20th edition, promising an eclectic mix of horror, action, sci-fi, comedy, animation, and otherwise unclassifiable cinema that befits its status as the weirdest stop on the very busy fall festival circuit.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Slated for release in theaters on Christmas Day, Marty Supreme has quite the eclectic ensemble.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The 13-minute show featured over 250 drones creating colorful animations in the sky over Park Avenue in downtown San Jose.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
-
The store’s cameras caught the entire crime, as well as Hussein’s colorful undies, which bore the letter R in white, and the year 1990 in big yellow numbers.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Some might say the goal of a nuclear-free world is a fool’s errand.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Aug. 2025
-
Trying to avoid every dip and pullback is a fool’s errand.—
Frank Holmes,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Lulu and Georgia’s assortment strategy evolves alongside its brand presence.—
Kaleigh Moore,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
-
This assortment will include body creams and lotions, fragrance mists, Wallflower diffusers, PocketBac hand sanitizers, lip products such as glosses and scrubs, hand soaps, as well as 3-wick candles, according to Schumacher.—
Jordan Green,
Nashville Tennessean,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Others accused the brand of catering to Black elitism, erasing the varied experiences of Black Americans involvement with the Ralph Lauren brand.—
Meagan Jordan,
Rolling Stone,
17 Aug. 2025
-
This opens the door to more natural writing and varied phrasing.—
Jeremy Fields,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Carnival Midway’s cast of trapeze artists, aerialists, jugglers and clowns perform every hour on the half hour, starting at 1:30 p.m. (on weekends, the show kicks off at 11:30a.m.).—
Alex Schechter,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Guests were surrounded by a surreal landscape of vanishing walls, floating furniture, and a creepy clown with a menacing smile.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
In jumbles of old stones that, to me, are barely legible as the remains of buildings, Cocon López could see the entire timeline of old Aké and how later people interacted with and repurposed what came before.—
Lizzie Wade,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 May 2025
-
Instead, voters themselves are jumbles of competing and sometimes contradictory interests.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The first, PCMark for Android, performs assorted productivity operations in a smartphone-style window, giving a sense of Android app performance on the device.—
Charles Jefferies,
PC Magazine,
15 Aug. 2025
-
There is a huge variety of treats to choose from at the bakery including assorted cookies, cakes, scones and cinnamon rolls.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motley. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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