motley

mot·ley /ˈmɒtli $ ˈmɑːtli/ adjectiveadj [only before noun]

a motley collection/crew/assortment etc VARIOUS/OF DIFFERENT KINDSa group of people or things that are very different from each other and do not seem to belong together 形形色色的集合物/一伙人/混合物等

I looked at the motley bunch we were sailing with and began to feel uneasy about the trip.

我看着船上同行的那些杂七杂八的人，对这次航行担心起来。

His pockets contained a motley collection of coins, movie ticket stubs, and old candies.

他的口袋里乱七八糟地放了很多东西，有硬币、电影票票根，还有很久以前的糖果。

Examples from the Corpus

a motley collection/crew/assortment etc• A group appear from the house, a motley collection like a troupe of clowns.• When he stalked out he left her with a motley crew mostly of accountants and lawyers.• The party is not a motley collection of ageing hippies, but an arm of a wealthy and complex organisation.• A middle-aged couple got out and began to unload a motley collection of boxes and bags.• All had several days' growth of beard and were dressed in a motley collection of civilian clothing.• Photographs of the period show groups of men in a motley collection of semi-uniform.• If so, is what you have put together really just a motley collection with a messy clash of styles and materials?

Examples from the Corpus

motley• A motley bunch of students, ex-convicts and unemployed artists worked together to repair the building.• The party is not a motley collection of ageing hippies, but an arm of a wealthy and complex organisation.• If so, is what you have put together really just a motley collection with a messy clash of styles and materials?• These confiscated nets were a very motley collection.• The people who travelled with us to Mexico were a motley crew.• a motley fleet of aircraft• They were an entertaining and very motley gang.• One seemed to be humans dressed in black, the other was a motley group of exters.• Gaz slowly gathers a motley group of losers.

Origin motley

(1300-1400) Perhaps from mote

mot·ley adjectiveadj

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus