Definitions Related words Phrases Mentions History Colors (New!)

Literary notes about Variegated (AI summary)

The term "variegated" has long served as a versatile literary tool, used to evoke visual and metaphorical complexity across genres. In depictions of nature, it highlights the interplay of colors and textures—from the delicate, patterned petals of a tulip ([1], [2]) and the richly mottled landscapes along the Rhine ([3], [4], [5]), to the mixed hues of natural materials like clay and wood ([6], [7]). Authors also extend its application to abstract realms: Santayana ([8]) and Whitman ([9]) employ "variegated" to suggest a multifaceted, omnipresent quality of human emotion and society, while others like Thackeray ([10]) and Chekhov ([11], [12], [13], [14]) use it to reveal contrasts within personal appearance and social settings. This breadth—from the tangible patterns in flora and fabric to the symbolic diversity in ideas and moods—underscores the enduring appeal of "variegated" as a descriptor of layered, intricate beauty in literature.
  1. Beautiful eyes Variegated Tulip.
    — from Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway
  2. Tulip, Variegated Beautiful eyes.
    — from Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway
  3. This part of the Rhine, indeed, presents a singularly variegated landscape.
    — from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  4. This part of the Rhine, indeed, presents a singularly variegated landscape.
    — from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  5. I have already spoken of the great palaces dotted about among the variegated greenery, some in ruins and some still occupied.
    — from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
  6. It is this country which furnishes the Romans with tables, formed of one piece of wood, of the largest dimensions, and most beautifully variegated.
    — from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3) by Strabo
  7. The coast at these places is sloping, and composed of red or variegated clay.
    — from The King James Version of the Bible
  8. This is what is meant by putting the standard of value, not in some arbitrary personal dogma but in a variegated omnipresent happiness.
    — from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
  9. I hail with joy the oceanic, variegated, intense practical energy, the demand for facts, even the business materialism of the current age, our States.
    — from Complete Prose Works by Walt Whitman
  10. His shirt collars were higher; his face was redder; his shirt-frill flaunted gorgeously out of his variegated waistcoat.
    — from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  11. The poor fellow has variegated young ladies on both sides of him, clinging to him in terror and preventing him from working.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  12. The poor fellow’s right leg is lame from his wound, and on his left arm he has one of the variegated young ladies.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  13. when I see one of the variegated young ladies pounce down on him and bear him off to her villa.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  14. shriek the variegated young ladies.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

More usage examples

Also see: Google, News, Images, Wikipedia, Reddit, BlueSky


Home   Reverse Dictionary / Thesaurus   Datamuse   Word games   Spruce   Feedback   Dark mode   Random word   Help


Color thesaurus

Use OneLook to find colors for words and words for colors

See an example

Literary notes

Use OneLook to learn how words are used by great writers

See an example

Word games

Try our innovative vocabulary games

Play Now

Read the latest OneLook newsletter issue: Threepeat Redux