protean

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The internal reasons for Mr. Trump’s decisions on most subjects are protean, his explanations for them confusing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

In particular, there is a confused, protean nature of conducting operations among a civilian population you are sworn to defend while simultaneously seeking to prevent them from harming you or others.

From Slate • Jun. 10, 2025

Strangely enough, turning death into an invisible force as opposed to some night stalker with a protean face dissolved some of my usual apprehension.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2025

This is a festival that continues to ask what it means to present a music festival — particularly one that aspires to represent an entire, protean genre.

From New York Times • Jan. 15, 2024

In addition to seeming eternal, ubiquitous, protean, and endlessly quotable, Franklin had the most sophisticated sense of timing among all the prominent statesmen of the revolutionary era.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis