Variegated Meaning
/ˈvɛəɹi.əˌɡeɪtɪd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjStreaked, spotted, or otherwise marked with a variety of color.
adjVery colorful.
Sentence Examples
I like plants with variegated leaves because solid colors are so boring.
Ziri has a variegated ivy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The gardener planted ____ leaves with multiple shades of green and white.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The plant is famous for its ____ leaves, which have many different shades of green and white on them today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Late Latin varius Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Late Latin agō Late Latin variegōbor. English variegate English -ed English variegated From variegate + -ed.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There I beheld the painter of the year diſplaying his variegated fancies on his leafy tablets, and, with the pencil of power dipped in the æthereal bow, writing the leſſons of wiſdom divine on the fair forehead of blooming Nature."
— 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iii:
"From the heights a view was now and then obtained between the lofty pine and fir-trees of the valley below with its smiling fields and variegated woods of birch and alder trees, between which the river wound like a narrow silvery streak."
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 279:
"The challenge to heterosexuality requires that we claim, not deny, our queer character. It's sexual, it's variegated, sometimetimes its messy and, for better or worse, it's ours."
— 1996 September, “No Double Standard”, in Gay Community News, page 4:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The gardener planted ____ leaves with multiple shades of green and white.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The plant is famous for its ____ leaves, which have many different shades of green and white on them today.