Today’s Words That Work: Protean

Protean (PROH-tee-un) — from the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form — means versatile; readily assuming different shapes, characters, or meanings.

Example (as used by Hilton Als in The New Yorker): “The Berlin-based artist and filmmaker Christopher Roth and the journalist Georg Diez are the latest in a line of innovative thinkers to be welcomed to the Watermill Center, the art and performance space on Long Island established 18 years ago by the protean director Robert Wilson.”