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variegate

[ vair-ee-i-geyt, vair-i-geyt ]
/ ˈvɛər i ɪˌgeɪt, ˈvɛər ɪˌgeɪt /
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See synonyms for: variegate / variegated on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), var·i·e·gat·ed, var·i·e·gat·ing.
to make varied in appearance, as by adding different colors.
to give variety to; diversify.
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Origin of variegate

1645–55; <Late Latin variegātus (past participle of variegāre to make (something) look varied), equivalent to Latin vari(us) various + -eg- (combining form of agere to do; see agent) + -ātus-ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM variegate

var·i·e·ga·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use variegate in a sentence

  • Body black or sordidly metallic greenish gray, usually yellow pollinose or variegate; gen at most hairy above.

    Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley
  • Possibly the purple patches of relaxation which variegate the lives of the inmates are too few and too far between.

    The Vagrancy Problem.|William Harbutt Dawson
  • Their clothes they variegate by steeping them in dyes, which produce a colour not easily effaced.

  • The Ashburners and Sedgwicks continue your tradition and even ornament or variegate it with their own original force.

British Dictionary definitions for variegate

variegate
/ (ˈvɛərɪˌɡeɪt) /

verb (tr)
to alter the appearance of, esp by adding different colours
to impart variety to

Derived forms of variegate

variegation, noun

Word Origin for variegate

C17: from Late Latin variegāre, from Latin varius diverse, various + agere to make
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
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