: a heterogeneous mixture : jumble
a hodgepodge of styles
Synonyms
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- mélange
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- pastiche
- patchwork
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- rummage
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
Examples of hodgepodge in a Sentence
the exhibit was a hodgepodge of mediocre art, bad art, and really bad art
Recent Examples on the Web
After some convincing, Moana heeds the ancestors’ call and head beyond the reef to find the lost island with her hodgepodge crew.
—
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Nov. 2024
Palestinian officials are pursuing a hodgepodge of diplomatic overtures to secure a productive relationship with a new Trump administration, five years on from a falling-out with the last one.
—Fatima Abdulkarim, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2024
The result was a strange hodgepodge of a TV series — novel and interesting in hindsight, but maybe not distinct enough to inspire a spot on the DVR at the time.
—Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
What may just seem like a hodgepodge of posts on social media actually has tremendous power.
—David Shedd, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hodgepodge 
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Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Nov. 2024
Palestinian officials are pursuing a hodgepodge of diplomatic overtures to secure a productive relationship with a new Trump administration, five years on from a falling-out with the last one.
—Fatima Abdulkarim, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2024
The result was a strange hodgepodge of a TV series — novel and interesting in hindsight, but maybe not distinct enough to inspire a spot on the DVR at the time.
—Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
What may just seem like a hodgepodge of posts on social media actually has tremendous power.
—David Shedd, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hodgepodge
Articles Related to hodgepodge
Dictionary Entries Near hodgepodge
Cite this Entry
“Hodgepodge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hodgepodge. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
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Etymology
an altered form of hotchpotch, from Middle English hochepot "mixed stew," derived from early French hochepot (same meaning), from hochier "to shake" and pot "pot, container"
Word Origin
Hodgepodge and its older form hotchpotch are part of a group of words that rhyme all by themselves. Hobnob and willy-nilly are others. In the case of hodgepodge and hotchpotch, the rhyme is not an accident. These words came to English from early French in the form hochepot. The spelling was changed to make the second half of the word rhyme with the first. In French hochepot was a stew of many foods cooked together in a pot. Perhaps the pot was shaken instead of stirred since hochepot was formed from hochier, meaning "to shake," and pot, which had the same meaning in early French as it does in English now. Before long hotchpotch and hodgepodge were used not just for a mixture of foods cooking in a pot but for any mixture of different things.
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