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Back in the days of Middle French, ménagerie meant "the management of a household or farm" or "a place where animals are tended." When English speakers adopted menagerie in the 1600s, they applied it specifically to places where wild and often also foreign animals were kept and trained for exhibition, as well as to the animals so kept. This second meaning was eventually generalized to refer to any varied mixture, especially one that includes things that are strange or foreign to one's experience.
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
- mélange
- 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 menagerie in a Sentence
Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 24 June 2024
Decades ago, Escobar spent part of his vast fortune assembling a menagerie of exotic animals, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches and kangaroos, at his hacienda outside Doradal, a town about ten miles west of the Magdalena.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 June 2024
No, no one died last night, Alan and his menagerie of sequins explain to the group — but one of them will perish before the end of today’s mission, thanks to a poison already administered by a traitor.
—Molly Fitzpatrick, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2024
In his efforts to cater to this menagerie of political sects, Netanyahu has thrown his usual caution to the wind.
—Daniel C. Kurtzer, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for menagerie 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'menagerie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Menagerie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menagerie. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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menagerie
noun
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