Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
👥 Mixed and varied 🧩 A mixed group 🤡 A colorful costume 🌈 Multicolored 🎨 To color with variety
to motley

to motley

8.4
To make something have many different colors
  • verb
  • /ˈmɑtli/
  • Archaic
translation icon : hacer multicolor
  • The artist motleyed the canvas with splashes of red, yellow, and blue.

Examples

  • Springtime has motleyed the once-barren landscape with bright wildflowers and green shoots.

  • She loves to motley her wardrobe with various patterns.

  • The festival parade motleyed the streets with performers in every shade imaginable.

  • The artist decided to motley the canvas with vibrant colors.

  • The artist motleyed the mural with a mix of bright and dark colors to create depth.

  • She motleyed her garden with flowers of various hues, resulting in a vibrant display.

  • The festival motleyed the town with banners and decorations of every color, bringing it to life.

Synonyms

to mingle
vsto motley
34 3.3

Mix together so things join and are hard to tell apart

is about creating a varied visual appearance rather than blending into indistinct mix
to mix colors
vsto motley
  • US
1 2.8

Combine paints to make new colors

is about varying overall appearance by combining colors or types rather than only mixing pigments
to variegate
vsto motley
1 8.8

To make something more varied by adding different colours or marks

is focused on creating varied color or feature combinations rather than mere blending
to parti-color
vsto motley
  • Archaic
9.6

To decorate something with patches of different colors

is about making appearance varied by mixing colors or types

Antonyms

to standardize
  • US
83 4.2

To make things the same by using one set of rules

Compounds

motley fool
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who wears bright clothes at a court to make a king or noble laugh

How Varied

to variegate
1 8.8
to motley
  • Archaic
8.4
to paint
854 1.0
to color
  • US
228 1.0
to tint
24 3.6

Surface Forms

motley infinitive
motleyed past
motleyed past participle
motleying present participle
motleys third person singular

Etymology

Motley comes from mot meaning 'a small spot', and the idea of many patches on cloth. To 'motley' something is to make it like that patchwork—full of different colors or parts—so the verb means to make a varied appearance.