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It all began with macaroni. Our word pastiche is from French, but the French word was in turn borrowed from Italian, where the word is pasticcio. Pasticcio is what the Italians called a kind of "macaroni pie" (from the word pasta). English-speakers familiar with this multilayered dish had begun to apply the name to various sorts of potpourris or hodgepodges (musical, literary, or otherwise) by the 18th century. For over a hundred years English speakers were happy with pasticcio, until we discovered the French word pastiche sometime in the latter part of the 1800s. Although we still occasionally use pasticcio in its extended meaning, "pastiche" is now much more common.
Synonyms
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- mélange
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- patchwork
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- rummage
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
Examples of pastiche in a Sentence
Amy Carleton, Charlotte Observer, 29 Feb. 2024
Lisa Frankenstein is definitely a pastiche of influences because it’s mostly rooted in my love of the ’80s.
—Keaton Bell, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2024
The result is a painfully self-aware pastiche that fails to capture the acerbic magnetism of the original movie, the campy charm of jukebox musicals, or the real talent of its young cast.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2024
Their movie, set in upstate New York in the nineteenth century, is a historical pastiche, a scattershot revisionist view of the American psychic loam that stars a big-time actor (played by Jacob Elordi) who seems to crave indie street cred.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2023
The result is something that feels split between the opera’s 1867 Paris premiere and the everything-all-at-once pop pastiche of today.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2023
Critics agreed that the score was his most mature, incorporating modest experiments alongside the opera pastiche; here and there, one caught a glimpse of genuine musical intelligence.
—Vulture, 28 Mar. 2023
The Netflix sequel trades the original’s World War II pastiche for more of a 1960s James Bond–esque spy aesthetic.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2023
As Netflix ’90s action-comedy pastiches go, Obliterated is far more consistently amusing than FUBAR.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pastiche.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pastiche
Cite this Entry
“Pastiche.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastiche. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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