medley
medley — adjective
- medleypositive
- medleyercomparative
- medleyestsuperlative
1. made up of many different kinds, brought together into a single whole
made up of many different kinds, brought together into a single whole
A medley display of enamel brooches, beaded necklaces, and carved wooden boxes drew Mina's eye to the charity shop window.
attributive: medley + noun describing a mixed collection
The café's medley salad bowl came piled with roasted peppers, feta cubes, olives, and fresh mint.
A medley queue of cyclists, parents with pushchairs, and elderly dog-walkers snaked around the ice-cream van.
The craft table was covered with a medley heap of felt squares, sequins, pipe cleaners, and glue sticks.
Hakim's medley spice blend gave the stew a warm and surprising flavour.
- uniform
everything of the same type or appearance
- homogeneous
all parts alike; more formal register
用法筆記
Only used before a noun (attributive position). You cannot say 'the collection was medley' — use 'mixed' or 'varied' instead.
常見錯誤
medley — noun
- medleysingular
- medleysplural
1. a continuous musical performance that stitches together several well-known songs
a continuous musical performance that stitches together several well-known songs or melodies
The choir opened the concert with a lively medley of Motown hits.
collocation: a lively medley of [style or genre]
Keiko played a piano medley that moved from classical études into jazz improvisations.
At the wedding, the band performed a medley of the couple's favourite love songs.
The radio host closed the late-night show with a short medley of ABBA, Queen, and Blondie hits.
Esther's spin class pedalled hard through a twenty-minute medley of 1990s dance tracks.
- potpourri
more old-fashioned and literary; often used of light classical arrangements
- mashup
informal; a digital creation that layers songs simultaneously rather than in sequence
- compilation
a collection of separate tracks with no transitions between them; broader term
文法句型
a medley of + plural noun (songs, hits, tunes)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 3: a musical medley is an arranged performance with transitions, not simply any mixed collection.
常見錯誤
2. a competitive swimming event in which each portion of the race requires the swim
a competitive swimming event in which each portion of the race requires the swimmer to use a different stroke
Naledi won the 200-metre individual medley after months of butterfly training.
collocation: individual medley
The relay team practised their medley handovers until they were perfectly timed.
Fatima swam the backstroke leg of the girls' medley relay at the county finals.
Dmitri's medley time at the city finals beat his personal best by three seconds.
Oluwaseyi's strong breaststroke gave his team the lead in the medley event.
文法句型
the + [distance] + individual medley
the + [distance] + medley relay
用法筆記
The standard order of strokes is butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. In a relay medley four swimmers each take one stroke; in an individual medley one swimmer performs all four.
常見錯誤
3. an assortment of different people, objects, or elements brought together
an assortment of different people, objects, or elements brought together
The market stall sold a colourful medley of spices, dried herbs, and loose teas.
collocation: a colourful medley of [plural nouns]
Ingrid's essay drew from a medley of sources including diaries, letters, and maps.
The church basement filled on Tuesday evenings with a medley of faces — a retired nurse, a teenage runaway, a widowed father of three.
Javier's bookshelf held a medley of cookbooks, graphic novels, and travel guides.
The summer festival offered a medley of activities from puppet shows to kite flying.
- mixture
more common and neutral; the everyday alternative
- assortment
emphasises variety of types more than the fact of mixing
- hodgepodge
informal; often suggests a disorderly or random collection
- uniformity
everything being the same
- single type
only one kind present
文法句型
a medley of + plural noun
用法筆記
Often used with 'of' followed by plural nouns describing the items in the mixture. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense describes any mixture, not a musical performance.