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.
Variegated foliage, along with turquoise and purple accents in the garden, leavens the darker hues.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2021
Variegated versions — meaning splotched, speckled, or striped — even hotter.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 9, 2021
Variegated hollies such as Ilex aquifolium ‘Argenteo Marginata,’ with green leaves edged in white, are handsome year-round.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2015
Milkweed and dogbane Open fields everywhere Brick-red color, veins black, borders of wings black Fritillaries or Silver Spots Variegated fritillary 1¾–2½ August Passion flower Low fields Orange-brown color, checkered with black, no silver spots.
From A Guide for the Study of Animals by Lucas, Frederic
Variegated family, clothed with sunlight and brilliant silk! that masks with the night! that patches and paints with the moon!
From Great Pictures, As Seen and Described by Famous Writers by Singleton, Esther
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.
