variegated
Americanadjective
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varied in appearance or color; marked with patches or spots of different colors.
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varied; diversified; diverse.
adjective
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displaying differently coloured spots, patches, streaks, etc
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(of foliage or flowers) having pale patches, usually as a result of mutation, infection, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of variegated
Explanation
Something variegated has many different colors, as in the trees of autumn or the feathers of a peacock. Whenever you see "vari" at the beginning of a word, you know that the idea of difference or change is involved. Using vari is a good way to start thinking about this word. It's the same root as in various, variable, varied, and variety. All these words mean something similar: lots of different versions of something. The scales of a fish can appear quite variegated from one angle and then strangely uniform from another. A tiger's variegated coat helps it stay hidden.
Vocabulary lists containing variegated
A Doll's House
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "T" "U" "V" and "W"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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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.
Like his films, Mr. Sayles’s novels are divided among a teeming cast of variegated characters.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
Waikiki reveals these striking colors earlier than other variegated colocasia.
From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024
Hamlin's catastrophic on-field collapse and cardiac arrest on January 2, 2023 caused the unprecedented suspension of an NFL game, and brought home for a national TV audience the variegated harms of America's most popular sport.
From Salon • Feb. 11, 2024
A cast of superb actors are directed to present their characters in a relentless staccato vocal monotone, devoid of any true or variegated expressiveness.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2023
A short beach of gray-white sand led to the cliff edge, which rose, a great face of variegated rock, for fifty feet.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions 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.
