amalgam.

1. A mixture or combination of different elements forming a whole.

2. A mixture of mercury with one or more other metals.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• amalgam of styles
• cultural amalgam

On the page

The building was an amalgam of practical repairs and ambitious decoration.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Singular amalgam; plural amalgams. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: synthesis. Commonness: moderately common.