menagerie

noun

me·​nag·​er·​ie

mə-ˈnaj-rē,

-ˈna-jə- 

 also  -ˈnazh-rē,

-ˈna-zhə-

1

a

: a place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition

b

: a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition

2

: a varied mixture

a menagerie of comedians

—TV Guide

A menagerie of grotesque statues stood in the garden.

Did you know?

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

a menagerie of rare creatures

the living room is eclectically furnished with a menagerie of garage-sale finds

Recent Examples on the Web

Frantic, Heidi and her partner had begun rounding up their menagerie of 15 rescue cats, sweeping the house with flashlights since the power had gone out. —Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 17 Jan. 2025

Two dozen people had been waiting for this moment, passing the time by handling the store’s menagerie of optical illusions, wooden puzzles and magic-adjacent objects. —David Segal, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025

The menu is also efficient: One of the few breakfast options is a waffle featuring a different menagerie of toppings each season. —Miguel Otárola, The Denver Post, 4 Feb. 2025

Better Man opens January 10, and might spur a menagerie category at a future Oscars: Swift as a giraffe; Madonna as a Panther… Also Read The 25 Most Influential People in Music In 2025 SPIN spoke to Williams about the film. —Karen Bliss, SPIN, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French ménagerie, from Middle French, management of a household or farm, from menage

First Known Use

1676, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

menagerie

noun

me·​nag·​er·​ie mə-ˈnaj-(ə-)rē 

 also  -ˈnazh-

1

: a place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition

2

: a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition