protean
Americanadjective
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readily assuming different forms or characters; extremely variable.
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changeable in shape or form, as an amoeba.
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(of an actor or actress) versatile; able to play many kinds of roles.
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(initial capital letter) of, relating to, or suggestive of Proteus.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of protean
Explanation
When Picasso is described as a protean genius, it means that not only was he brilliant, but he changed the way he worked many times. Protean means able to change shape. Proteus was a Greek god who could tell the future, but when he was asked a question he didn't want to answer, he would change shapes. With someone or something protean, you get all the power of shape-shifting, plus some of the menace of a god you cannot control.
Vocabulary lists containing protean
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Hamilton
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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.
Evergrande didn't say how much it was paid for Protean, which it bought in 2019 for $58m.
From BBC • Nov. 5, 2021
Outside Greater China, Evergrande has spent billions of dollars acquiring stakes in foreign automobile technologies for its new energy vehicle business, including Swedish NEVS, Dutch e-Traction and British Protean.
From Reuters • Sep. 16, 2021
Protean in style, erudite in reference, uncanny in effect, these stories and novellas inhabit, conjure, and invent characters written out of history by slavery, racism, and subordination.
From Slate • Nov. 30, 2015
And yet there were moments of astonishing liquidity, voluptuousness, delicacy and fullness, and her Protean mystery became more evident than ever.
From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2015
But as it is, it is both by turns, and neither long, but runs through its Protean changes, according to the exigencies of the flowing discourse of the learned author.
From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by Elliott, E. N.
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.
