variegation
AmericanEtymology
Origin of variegation
Explanation
Variegation is the process of making something more diverse, especially in its coloration. The variegation in a plant's leaves can give them a striped or spotted appearance. One long musical note can be made into an interesting tune with some variegation in its pitch and tone. And adding variegation to the color of the ocean in your painting can lend it a more realistic appearance. This noun is often used by botanists (plant scientists) to describe the color variation in blossoms and leaves. The Latin root of variegation is varius, "spotted" or "varying."
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.
The results are Romantic landscapes in miniature, with the variegation of the stone transforming into fields, skies and mountains whose beauty is further enhanced by the delicate metalwork in which they’re mounted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Speaking of combining colors, I’ve heard lots of talk lately about how we should avoid using yellow variegated plants in the same beds, or even in the same garden, with plants of white variegation.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2022
But these shifts feel deliberate, like the clicking of a slide projector rather than the smooth variegation of a kaleidoscope, and the landscape always clears atop that steady pulse.
From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2016
The Rockies may offer wilder wildernesses, but you don’t experience the pleasure of sharp cultural variegation as you move from place to place.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 11, 2016
In no case that I have seen is the variegation at all striking, and, except in tree collections, variegated hornbeams are hardly worth growing.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 421, January 26, 1884 by Various
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