variegated
adjective
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The Colorful History of Variegated
Variegated has been adding color to our language since the 17th century. It is used in botany to describe the presence of two or more colors in the leaves, petals, or other parts of plants, and it also appears in the names of some animals (such as the variegated cutworm). It can be used by the general speaker to refer to anything marked with different colors ("a variegated silk robe," for instance) or to things that are simply various and diverse ("a variegated collection"). Variegated has a variety of relatives in English—it is ultimately derived from the Latin root varius, meaning "varied," which also gave us vary, various, and variety.
Synonyms
Examples of variegated in a Sentence
Victoria Uren, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Berlin, like any cosmopolitan city, houses so many variegated communities, and I was drawn to writing a character who can navigate the worlds of different milieus.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2025
Native to areas of the Mediterranean such as Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Israel, this low-growing plant has delicate flowers that flutter on long stems above silvery or variegated leaves.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2025
Two good varieties are ‘Bicolor,’ a variegated plant that has deep green leaves banded with white edges, and ‘Magenta’ which has dark green leaves with magenta edges.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near variegated
Cite this Entry
“Variegated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/variegated. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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