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Mélange got mixed into the melting pot of English back in the 1600s. It derives from the Middle French verb mesler, which means "to mix." "Mélange" is actually one of several French contributions to the English body of words for miscellaneous mixtures. "Pastiche" (meaning "a composition made up of selections of different works," or broadly, "a disorderly mixture, hodgepodge") is borrowed from French, and "medley" and "potpourri" have roots in French, too. There's also the lesser known "gallimaufry" (meaning "hodgepodge"), which comes from the Middle French galimafree (meaning "stew").
Synonyms
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- pastiche
- patchwork
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- rummage
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
Examples of mélange in a Sentence
Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 10 June 2024
As seen in her most ethereal makeup look yet, a melange of shimmery shadows blanketed her lids.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 30 May 2024
The soundtrack is a synth-heavy melange that can be ambient or anthemic, intimate in its excavation of inner feelings or defiantly declarative, at times leaning into rap.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2024
In the novels – and Denis Villeneuve's movies – the Atreides move to Arrakis to take over production of the valuable fictional spice melange that drives commerce, and also war.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 4 May 2024
Billed as a cultural celebration of Los Angeles, Everybody’s In L.A. intersperses field pieces with Mulaney’s unique brand of standup, a melange of observational humor and fey self-deprecation.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2024
The infatuation between Ponyboy and Cherry (Emma Pittman), which produces a couple of serviceable duets, feels perfunctory and fades into a melange of other conflicts.
—Naveen Kumar, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
In Dune: Part Two, in theaters March 1, Chani helps teach Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) the ways of her people: how to eat food laced with the spice melange, how to fight with a crysknife, how to ride a sandworm.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 21 Feb. 2024
Through their lessons, Paul sees the planet as more than a place from which to extract the psychotropic melange known as Spice.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mélange.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mélange
Cite this Entry
“Mélange.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/m%C3%A9lange. Accessed 27 Jun. 2024.
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