polychrome means using multiple or many colours. It carries an Arena rating of 1543, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, polychrome ranks #2,247 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,173 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #5,737 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #5,998 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “polychrome” is a great word
Having, using, or decorated with many colors. From the combining form poly- ("many") and -chrome ("color"), from Greek polychrōmos. Unlike monochrome, which inhabits a world of a single hue and its shades, or polychromatic, which can lean toward the optical analysis of wavelengths, polychrome is an act of deliberate, decorative abundance. It is the cracked enamel of a carnival carousel horse, the intricate tessellation of a Byzantine mosaic, and the layered, fading pigments on the façade of a forgotten temple—a testament to the human urge to answer grey stone and blank canvas with a defiant, celebratory riot.
Etymology
From poly- + -chrome.
adj
- Using multiple or many colours.e.g.“A polychrome two-handled jar with red and white streaks on a dark ground.” — 1907, Ronald M. Burrows, The Discoveries In Crete, page 52:
- Executed in the manner of polychromy.e.g.“polychrome printing”
noun
- A piece of multicolored pottery.
- esculin (so called in allusion to its fluorescent solutions)
verb
- To paint or dye with multiple colours.
- To divide (a dye etc.) into multiple colours.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.