Meaning & use
tapestry
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Meanings
nouncountable
A thick woven cloth with a picture or pattern, usually hung on a wall.
Grammar: Countable: an old tapestry.
Patterns
- a tapestry of something
- a tapestry depicting something
A medieval tapestry covers one wall of the hall.
The museum restored a tapestry showing a hunting scene.
nouncountablefigurative
A rich mixture of different elements that together form a complex whole.
Grammar: Singular with of: a tapestry of cultures.
Patterns
- a tapestry of something
The city is a tapestry of languages and traditions.
Her memoir weaves a tapestry of family stories.
Word forms
| plural | tapestries |
|---|
Common combinations
- rich tapestry
- The novel presents a rich tapestry of village life.
- woven tapestry
- A woven tapestry hung in the castle.
- tapestry of cultures
- Canada is a tapestry of cultures.
- hang a tapestry
- They hung a tapestry above the fireplace.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mosaic
- Stresses distinct pieces fitting together.
- patchwork
- Suggests pieces joined unevenly.
- wall hanging
- A plain term for the cloth object.
Opposites
Word family
- tapestried adjective
- decorated with tapestries
Commonly confused: tapestry or tapas?
tapestry vs tapas
Tapas are small Spanish dishes; the words are unrelated.
Practice
The writer described the town as a rich ___ of cultures and histories.
Choose one answer.
A tapestry of is the figurative singular pattern. Tapestries would not follow a rich a.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tapestry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.