menagerie

noun

me·nag·er·ie

mə-ˈnaj-rē,

-ˈna-jə-

also -ˈnazh-rē,

-ˈna-zhə-

Synonyms of menagerie next

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

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

: 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.

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Overhead, a menagerie of developmental detachable toys, including a wiggly octopus, chiming turtle with mirror, crinkly sea star, squeaker crab, and chiming manta ray beckon little hands and feet and promote hand-eye coordination. —

Pamela Brill, Parents, 24 Oct. 2024 Usually, histories of life introduce us to creatures in sequence, showing how Earth’s menagerie has changed with time. —

Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2024 One of Michele’s odder collections is his menagerie of ceramic pugs, some of which date back to the 1700s. —

Hannah Malach, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024 Yet his squishy menagerie has particularly captivated the internet, especially as videos of stars like A$AP Rocky and Jacob Elordi relaxing in the comfy creations have gone viral on Tiktok. —

Elise Taylor, Vogue, 22 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for menagerie