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polychromatic

[pol-ee-kroh-mat-ik, -kruh-]
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adjective
  1. having or exhibiting a variety of colors.
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Also pol·y·chro·mic [pol-ee-kroh-mik] /ˌpɒl iˈkroʊ mɪk/.

Origin of polychromatic

First recorded in 1840–50; poly- + chromatic
Related formspol·y·chro·ma·tism [pol-ee-kroh-muh-tiz-uh m] /ˌpɒl iˈkroʊ məˌtɪz əm/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

checkereddappledkaleidoscopicmotleymottledmulticoloredpiebaldpolychromepolychromicspottedvaricoloredvariegatedversicolorparticoloredpiedprismatic

Examples from the Web for polychromatic

Historical Examples

  • The adornment, plastic and polychromatic, is strictly structural.

    Six Major Prophets

    Edwin Emery Slosson

  • The pen of Joseph on such occasions was like his predecessor's coat, polychromatic.

    The Woman-Hater

    Charles Reade

  • Bewitched as by the spinning of a polychromatic top, he could not leave the Island.

    Sinister Street, vol. 2

    Compton Mackenzie

  • The arch spanned the blue sky, and on the dark mountains extended the polychromatic reflection.

  • Hittorf was full of his rather excessive theories about the polychromatic architecture of the ancients.

    Ingres

    A. J. Finberg

British Dictionary definitions for polychromatic

polychromatic

polychromic (ˌpɒlɪˈkrəʊmɪk) or polychromous

adjective
  1. having various or changing colours
  2. (of light or other electromagnetic radiation) containing radiation with more than one wavelength
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Derived Formspolychromatism (ˌpɒlɪˈkrəʊməˌtɪzəm), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
polychromatic in Medicine

polychromatic

(pŏl′ē-krō-măt′ĭk)
adj.
  1. Having or exhibiting many colors.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
polychromatic in Science

polychromatic

[pŏl′ē-krō-măt′ĭk]
  1. Consisting of or related to radiation of more than one wavelength.
  2. Of or having many colors. Compare monochromatic.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.