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
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.
It consists of more than 60 bronze age objects, including 29 bracelets, 11 bowls, three bottles and other miscellaneous pieces.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
There will be options for tomatoes, greens, fruit and the miscellaneous beautiful thing you bought before deciding what it was for.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
After gas spending, miscellaneous retailers—a category including gift shops and consignment stores—registered the highest growth in sales with a 2.3% monthly gain.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
The only segment to record weakened sales in November was sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailing, the data agency said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Plus 4 sweaters @ 1.50, 4 blouses @ 1.00, miscellaneous items @ 10.00 and books, presents @ 4.50.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
