kaleidoscopic
[kuh-lahy-duh-skop-ik]
- of, relating to, or created by a kaleidoscope.
- changing form, pattern, color, etc., in a manner suggesting a kaleidoscope.
- continually shifting from one set of relations to another; rapidly changing: the kaleidoscopic events of the past year.
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Also ka·lei·do·scop·i·cal.
Origin of kaleidoscopic
Synonyms
See more synonyms for kaleidoscopic on Thesaurus.com3. changeable, fluctuating, protean, variable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for kaleidoscopic
Contemporary Examples
The kaleidoscopic mobile changes no matter how you look at it—or where you stand.
It was both linear and kaleidoscopic, if that makes any sense.
The Final Roar: Paul Reid on Finishing William Manchester’s Life of ChurchillKevin Canfield
November 16, 2012
His Cezannes show the Frenchman at his most kaleidoscopic, breaking the world into shards.
Philadelphia’s Reopened Barnes Foundation Puts Its Masterpieces in a Better LightBlake Gopnik
May 18, 2012
A kaleidoscopic installation of 650 quilts spirals up to the ceiling in a grand display.
Historical Examples
Standing with them was that man of kaleidoscopic make-up, the great Azef himself.
The Minister of EvilWilliam Le Queux
The stimulation of fireworks, or of kaleidoscopic effects, seems to us trivial.
The Sense of BeautyGeorge Santayana
I love it always—under every aspect of its kaleidoscopic face.
She and I, Volume 2John Conroy Hutcheson
It was a kaleidoscopic, misty wilderness into which he looked.
Master of MenE. Phillips Oppenheim
These are the kaleidoscopic pictures that remain mirrored in the memory.
Trooper Bluegum at the DardanellesOliver Hogue
Word Origin and History for kaleidoscopic
adj.
1820, from kaleidoscope + -ic. Figurative use by 1855.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper