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View synonyms for patchwork

patchwork

[ pach-wurk ]

noun

  1. something made up of an incongruous variety of pieces or parts; hodgepodge:

    a patchwork of verse forms.

    Synonyms: mélange, jumble, medley

  2. work made of pieces of cloth or leather of various colors or shapes sewed together, used especially for covering quilts, cushions, etc.


adjective

  1. resembling a patchwork, especially in being makeshift, irregular, or improvised:

    a patchwork policy of dispensing foreign aid.

verb (used with object)

  1. to make as patchwork:

    She specializes in patchworking skirts.

  2. to assemble or connect in making patchwork:

    to patchwork neckties into bedspreads.

patchwork

/ ˈpætʃˌwɜːk /

noun

  1. needlework done by sewing pieces of different materials together
  2. something, such as a theory, made up of various parts

    a patchwork of cribbed ideas



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Other Words From

  • patchworky adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of patchwork1

First recorded in 1685–95; patch 1 + work

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Example Sentences

The lab opened the door to a patchwork of grants from around the world which allowed Lavie to begin auditioning actresses.

We have a patchwork system in which some people are covered, and others wait and wait.

A patchwork of building shells and cratered streets, the city tells of a cyclical war, still smoldering.

Petite a-frame suede mini-skirts featured patchwork pockets or cut-out patterns on leather.

Other parents use a patchwork of care with a different plan in place every day.

This patchwork way of constructing engines made success much more difficult.

What do you suppose my friend the Patchwork Girl would think of me, if she saw me wearing this beastly shape?

Worn-out clothes were returned to the vlicus to be made up into patchwork quilts.

Minnie was placed in Mrs. Thimbleby's own high-backed chair, with the clean patchwork-covered cushions piled behind her.

Envelopes, notes, the Baltimore Sun, and other papers were strewn thick over the silk patchwork quilt.

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gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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patch-uppatchy