patchworks

Noun

patchwork (countable and uncountable, plural patchworks)

1. A work, such as a blanket, composed of many different colors and shapes, sewn together to make an interesting whole.
2. (figuratively) Any kind of creation that makes use of many different aspects to create one whole piece.
   • Bill took all of his poetry and put it together in a folder. It made up a patchwork of his life.
3. (derogatory) A state of regulations whose constituents have an opaque scope of application because of their questionable delimitation with regard to each other.
   • Present United States privacy law – despite being made up of a patchwork federal and state constitutional, statutory, and common law – is predominantly based on the ideals of individual control, autonomy, and liberty from governmental intrusion, despite the fact that its inspiration was an idea...2011, Bryce Clayton Newell, “Rethinking Reasonable Expectations of Privacy in Online Social Networks”, in Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, volume 17, number 4, page 5

See all 5 meanings of patchwork