kaleidoscope

American  

[kuh-lahy-duh-skohp] / kəˈlaɪ dəˌskoʊp /

noun

1. an optical instrument in which bits of glass, held loosely at the end of a rotating tube, are shown in continually changing symmetrical forms by reflection in two or more mirrors set at angles to each other.

2. a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors.

3. a continually shifting pattern, scene, or the like.

   The 1920s were a kaleidoscope of fads and fashions.

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kaleidoscope British  

/ kəˌlaɪdəˈskɒpɪk, kəˈlaɪdəˌskəʊp /

noun

1. an optical toy for producing symmetrical patterns by multiple reflections in inclined mirrors enclosed in a tube. Loose pieces of coloured glass, paper, etc, are placed between transparent plates at the far end of the tube, which is rotated to change the pattern

2. any complex pattern of frequently changing shapes and colours

3. a complicated set of circumstances

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Other Word Forms

• kaleidoscopic adjective
• kaleidoscopically adverb

Etymology

Origin of kaleidoscope

1817; < Greek kal ( ós ) beautiful + eîdo ( s ) shape + -scope

Example Sentences

It is time that she’s intentional about protecting, especially amid her kaleidoscope of projects.

From Los Angeles Times

This kaleidoscope of a novel follows several characters trying to make a franchise film for a comics-based studio — the star, his producer wife, the director, the cinematographer and more.

From Los Angeles Times

Even so, the kaleidoscope of tales and vignettes, and the blurring of the banal with the macabre, produces a dusky, dreamlike atmosphere that envelopes one’s thoughts like a fine mist.

From The Wall Street Journal

People want to be surrounded by a kaleidoscope of buildings with proportion and material richness.

From The Wall Street Journal

After a nudge from Mrs. Clarke, Alexander now offered his kaleidoscope, but Lady Constance waved it away without even looking at the glorious display within.

From Literature