kaleidoscope
Syllables: kal·ei·do·scope/kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskəʊp/US/kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskoʊp/
kaleidoscope noun: an instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen.
Noun
kaleidoscope (plural kaleidoscopes)
- An instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen.
- The Kaleidoscope (from καλος beautiful, ειδος a form, and σκοπεω to see) is an instrument for creating and exhibiting an infinite variety of beautiful forms, and is constructed in such a manner as either to please the eye, by an ever-varying succession of splendid tints and symmetrical forms, or to...1817 July 10, David Brewster, “Specification of the Patent Granted to David Brewster, of Edinburgh, Doctor of Laws; for a New Optical Instrument, Called The Kaleidoscope, for Exhibiting and Creating...
- The mind of Petrarch was like a kaleidoscope. At every turn it presents us with new forms, always fantastic, occasionally beautiful; and we can scarcely believe that all these varieties have been produced by the same worthless fragments of glass.1824 April, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “[Contributions to Knight’s Quarterly Magazine.] Criticisms on the Principal Italian Writers. No. II. Petrarch.”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The...
- A constantly changing series of colours or other things.
- [T]his rainbow look'd like hope— / Quite a celestial kaleidoscope.1819 July 15, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, canto II, stanza XCIII, page 165
- Lady Etheringhame being now a constitutionalist, dined rather early: and Emily, her head like a kaleidescope, full of colours, with not a little disdain, put on the blue silk she had thought bleu céleste, at least in the country.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 34-35
- A swarm of butterflies.
- Jackasses shrieked in the forest, cockatoos busied themselves with their nests and a kaleidoscope of butterflies flitted among the fragrant shrubs and trees.2006, Natascha Scott-Stokes, Wild and Fearless: The Life of Margaret Fountaine, Peter Owen, page 206
- My heart fluttered like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, accompanied by an ocean of joyful tears.2026, Lyndon Fitzgerald Harris, Forgiveness at Ground Zero: A Journey of Service, Loss, and Redemption After 9/11, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 200
Verb
kaleidoscope (third-person singular simple present kaleidoscopes, present participle kaleidoscoping, simple past and past participle kaleidoscoped)
- To move in shifting (and often attractive or colourful) patterns.
kaleidoscope meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
kaleidoscope in Hindi
- instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
- बहुरूपदर्शक bahurūpdarśak, कैलाइडोस्कोप kailāiḍoskop, बहुमूर्तिदर्शी bahumūrtidarśī
kaleidoscope in Tamil
- பல்வண்ணக் காட்சிக் கருவி, கலைடோஸ்கோப்பு, பன்னிறவுருக்காட்டி, பல் உரு காட்டி
kaleidoscope in Urdu
- instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
- کَیلَیڈوسْکوپ kailaiḍoskop
kaleidoscope in Bengali
- instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
- ক্যালেইডোস্কোপ kêleiḍōskōp
More languagesFewer languages
- kaleidoscope in Malayalam
- ബഹുവിചിത്ര വർണ്ണരൂപദർശിനി, നിരന്തരമായി മാറുന്ന വർണ്ണാഭമായ കാഴ്ച
- kaleidoscope in Kannada
- ಕನ್ನಡಿ ಕೊಳವೆ, ಹಲಚಿತ್ತಾರ ತೋರುಕ, ಹಲಪಾಪೆ ತೋರುಕ
- kaleidoscope in Tagalog
- kaledoskopyo
- kaleidoscope in Arabic
- مِشْكَال miškāl, مِنْظَارُ التَّهَاوِيل minẓāru t-tahāwīl
- kaleidoscope in Malay
- kaleidoskop
- kaleidoscope in Indonesian
- kaleidoskop
- kaleidoscope in Thai
- กล้องสลับลาย glɔ̂ng-sà-làp-laai
- kaleidoscope in Vietnamese
- kính vạn hoa
- kaleidoscope in Myanmar
- ကလိုင်ဒိုစကုပ် ka.luingduica.kup
Examples of kaleidoscope in a sentence
- He closed his eyes and his thoughts pursued his imagination through a series of carefully constructed scenes as if he was watching the tumbling chips of coloured glass in a kaleidoscope.1953, Ian Fleming, “Pink Lights and Champagne”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 56:
- Back then, corporate Rail Blue was omnipresent, whereas now there is a kaleidoscope of colours and styles.2020 June 17, David Clough, “Then and Now: Trains through Crewe”, in Rail, number 907, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN...
- The seasoning is a kaleidoscope of Day-Glo dust particles that perishes under saliva and tongue.2022 April 20, Mariella Rudi, “Tostitos Hint of Lime has zero lime – but it’s still the perfect chip”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The...
- The kaleidoscope of handmade signs and causes, from immigration and the defense of Ukraine to LGBTQ rights and press freedom, spoke to the range and scope of Mr.2025 April 7, Simon Montlake, Caitlin Babcock, Ali Martin, Cameron Pugh, Jingnan Peng, “Is the anti-Trump ‘resistance’ starting to find its...
Forms of kaleidoscope
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | kaleidoscopes |
| alternative form | caleidoscope |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | kaleidoscopes |
| present participle | kaleidoscoping |
| past participle | kaleidoscoped |
| past | kaleidoscoped |
Origin of kaleidoscope
The noun is derived from Ancient Greek καλός (kalós, “beautiful, lovely”) + εἶδος (eîdos, “form, image, shape”) + English -scope (suffix denoting an instrument used for examination or viewing), coined by the British scientist David Brewster (1781–1868) in his 1817 patent for the invention: see the quotation. The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from kaleidoscope
Questions about kaleidoscope
- What does kaleidoscope mean?
- Kaleidoscope means an instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen.
- What is kaleidoscope in Hindi?
- Kaleidoscope in Hindi is बहुरूपदर्शक (bahurūpdarśak), कैलाइडोस्कोप (kailāiḍoskop), बहुमूर्तिदर्शी (bahumūrtidarśī). See Kaleidoscope meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use kaleidoscope in a sentence?
- He closed his eyes and his thoughts pursued his imagination through a series of carefully constructed scenes as if he was watching the tumbling chips of coloured glass in a kaleidoscope.
- What part of speech is kaleidoscope?
- Kaleidoscope can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce kaleidoscope?
- Kaleidoscope is pronounced /kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskəʊp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of kaleidoscope?
- The plural of kaleidoscope is kaleidoscopes.
Words near kaleidoscope in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: kaleidoscope (page history and authors); kaleidoscope (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); kaleidoscope (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); kaleidoscope (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-kaleidoscope.wav.
Cite this entry: “kaleidoscope.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kaleidoscope. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.