Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having or exhibiting many colors.
  • adjective Of or composed of radiation of more than one wavelength.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Many-colored: as, polychromatic light.
  • In mineralogy, exhibiting a play of colors

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Showing a variety, or a change, of colors.
  • adjective (Old Chem.) a substance obtained by the action of nitric acid on aloes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Showing a variety, or a change, of colours; having many colours; multicoloured.
  • adjective physics Composed of more than one wavelength.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of light or other electromagnetic radiation) composed of more than one wavelength
  • adjective having or exhibiting many colors

Etymologies

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Examples

  • She and Mr. Sauerbruch design what she calls polychromatic buildings, which incorporate color as a building material.

    Green With Style: 2008

  • Their walls are covered with paintings of the highest interest; their ceilings are rich in polychromatic decoration; and many are adorned with pillared porches cut in the solid rock.

    Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers 1891

  • The building, surrounded by gardens and approached through a grand gateway, was damaged by artillery in the Spanish civil war but still contains a riot of Moorish-influenced tiling, carved cedar doors, polychromatic wooden panels, and fine columns and arches reminiscent of the Alhambra.

    10 of the best hostels in Barcelona 2011

  • The church where the mass was held is also an impressive example of polychromatic Gothic revival, and is worth studying in detail.

    Photos from the Heralds of the Gospel 2009

  • This inevitably begins by voluntarily connecting a personal story to a larger one, or several larger ones, and is a purpose-driven path to express polychromatic civic values.

    Mehret Mandefro: The Revolution of Relevance Mehret Mandefro 2010

  • His face liquefies, drips chin residue into a polychromatic pool.

    Monkeytown excerpt 5 Chris Vola 2011

  • The building, surrounded by gardens and approached through a grand gateway, was damaged by artillery in the Spanish civil war but still contains a riot of Moorish-influenced tiling, carved cedar doors, polychromatic wooden panels, and fine columns and arches reminiscent of the Alhambra.

    10 of the best hostels in Barcelona 2011

  • Seurat's works in the Milwaukee exhibition include an unusual polychromatic drawing, "The Meadow," on loan from the Guggenheim.

    When Impressionists Played With Pastels 2011

  • This inevitably begins by voluntarily connecting a personal story to a larger one, or several larger ones, and is a purpose-driven path to express polychromatic civic values.

    Mehret Mandefro: The Revolution of Relevance Mehret Mandefro 2010

  • After a car crash in 2008 sidelined bassist Chi Cheng with a brain injury, his Sacramento bandmates shelved finished album Eros and enlisted fill-in Sergio Vega to embark on an uplifting, polychromatic homage to their fallen brother.

    Listen Up: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony reunite in 'Uni-5' 2010

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