protean
readily assuming different forms or characters; extremely variable.
changeable in shape or form, as an amoeba.
(of an actor or actress) versatile; able to play many kinds of roles.
(initial capital letter) of, relating to, or suggestive of Proteus.
Origin of protean
1Other words from protean
- pro·te·an·ism, noun
Words that may be confused with protean
- protean , protein
Words Nearby protean
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use protean in a sentence
There seemed a sense that his blackness alone lent him a protean kind of wisdom, power, promise—hope, we might recall.
How Barack and Michelle Have Normalized Black Prominence | John McWhorter | May 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs you stare at the protean work, the massive, fake, ink landscape fools you.
A New Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum Puts a Modern Face on Chinese Art | Melik Kaylan | January 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAll language is protean, a moment-in-time snap-shot of evolution in action.
Yet how, in this age of protean trends and indecipherable jargon, are we to draw the line?
Lupus is a protean disease that can cause inflammation in just about every part of the body, including the synovium.
What’s Synovitis—and How Sick Will It Make Lady Gaga? | Kent Sepkowitz | February 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Curiosity, thoughtless mirth, mock humility, and other symptoms of the protean vice are painted by a master.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol X | VariousRemains precisely the question: man feeling this protean capacity to grow a new organ: what organ?
The Natural Philosophy of Love | Remy de GourmontAlthough matter is protean and its transformations limitless, there are certain changes which cannot be made.
The story of Proteus itself is protean, and must be grasped in its essence through all its appearances.
Homer's Odyssey | Denton J. SniderKeats was often impatient of this protean quality of his own mind.
Keats | Sidney Colvin
British Dictionary definitions for protean
/ (prəʊˈtiːən, ˈprəʊtɪən) /
readily taking on various shapes or forms; variable
Origin of protean
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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