miscellaneous
Americanadjective
-
consisting of members or elements of different kinds; of mixed character.
a book of miscellaneous essays on American history.
- Synonyms:
- diversified, heterogeneous, varied, divers
-
having various qualities, aspects, or subjects.
a miscellaneous discussion.
adjective
-
composed of or containing a variety of things; mixed; varied
-
having varied capabilities, sides, etc
Synonym Usage
Miscellaneous, indiscriminate, promiscuous refer to mixture and lack of order, and may imply lack of discernment or taste. Miscellaneous emphasizes the idea of the mixture of things of different kinds or natures: a miscellaneous assortment of furniture. Indiscriminate emphasizes lack of discrimination in choice (and consequent confusion): indiscriminate praise. Promiscuous is even stronger than indiscriminate in its emphasis of complete absence of discrimination: promiscuous in his friendships.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of miscellaneous
1630–40; from Latin miscellāneus “mixed, of all sorts,” equivalent to miscell(us) “mixed” + -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous
Explanation
Something miscellaneous is made up of an odd bunch of things — things you might not expect to go together. A breakfast bar, a DVD, and a credit card bill are miscellaneous items that may be in your backpack. The word miscellaneous comes from the Latin word miscere, meaning “to mix.” You might have heard the expression “a mixed bag,” which applies when you don’t quite know what you’re going to get. That’s true of a bag of miscellaneous objects, too. You might pull out socks and a stick of butter — two things that don’t seem to go together. Similarly, miscellaneous can describe something with many variations, like a person who expresses herself in many different ways.
Vocabulary lists containing miscellaneous
Tears of a Tiger
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A Boy Called Bat
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List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Miscellaneous items include a life jacket for dogs.
From BBC • Sep. 28, 2025
For example, my recent search for “circus horse” turned up 62 results in Miscellaneous Items in High Demand.
From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2022
Miscellaneous gaming deals for Prime Day We called the PowerA Protection Case with Kevlar for Nintendo Switch our best carrying case for the Nintendo Switch thanks to its durability and affordability.
From The Verge • Jul. 12, 2022
This poem was included in one of the first known books of essays published by an African American woman, Plato’s “Essays: Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces, in Prose and Poetry.”
From New York Times • Mar. 19, 2022
Miscellaneous other expenses, including clothes, shoes, and personal items such as toothpaste, quickly exhausted what was left.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
