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Colorful vs Motley - What's the difference?

colorful | motley |

As adjectives the difference between colorful and motley

is that colorful is possessing]] prominent and varied [[colour|colors while motley is comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity; heterogeneous.

As a noun motley is

an incongruous mixture.

colorful

English

Alternative forms

* colourful (Commonwealth English)

Adjective

(-)
  • Possessing]] prominent and varied [[colour, colors.
  • * 1895 , The Annual of the British School at Athens
  • It was a colourful vase with red and white hoops on the lid, and red bands above and below the main frieze. These bands also carry a metope pattern in white of triple lines and blobs, which can just be distinguished on the photographs.
  • Interesting, multifaceted, energetic, distinctive.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1895, author=H. Walter Staner and Henry Sturmey, title=The Autocar,
  • passage=One of the most colourful' people in motor racing, he writes in a ' colourful manner.}}
  • (euphemistic) Profane, obscene, offensive (usually in the phrase colourful language ).
  • * 2002 , news.bbc.co.uk
  • Hussain celebrated reaching his ton with a gesture towards the media centre, pointing to the number three on the back of his shirt and offering some colourful language.

    motley

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity; heterogeneous.
  • *
  • *:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.
  • Having many colours; variegated.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • An incongruous mixture.
  • A jester's multicoloured clothes.
  • (by extension) A jester; a fool.
  • * 1598 , , III. iii. 71:
  • Will you be married, motley ?
  • * 1609 , :
  • Alas, 'tis true, I have gone here and there, / And made myself a motley to the view,