diversity

di·ver·si·ty

noun \də-ˈvər-sə-tē, dī-\

plural di·ver·si·ties

Definition of DIVERSITY

1

: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements : variety; especially : the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization <programs intended to promote diversity in schools>

2

: an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities : an instance of being diverse <a diversity of opinion>

Examples of DIVERSITY

1. The island has more diversity in plant life than other islands nearby.
2. The city is known for its cultural diversity.
3. The school aims for diversity in its student population.
4. Another factor in Burns' rise has been the strength and depth of Xerox's commitment to diversity. One-third of Xerox's 3,819 executives are women and 22% are minorities. —Nanette Byrnes et al., Business Week, 8 June 2009
5. Jim, a lanky, bearded 35-year-old, knows a lot about heirloom fruits and vegetables. He works with the Southern Seed Legacy in Athens, Georgia, an organization devoted to preserving the seeds of heirloom plants in order to restore some of the genetic diversity that industrial agriculture has eroded over the years. —Gary Paul Nabhan, Saveur, October 2009
6. Even more eccentric is the treatment of the British Empire. Stretching over three centuries and six continents, you might have expected that its extent, duration, and diversity would have made it immune to facile interpretation. —David Gilmour, New York Review, 2 Nov. 2006
7. The media flood the nation's editorial markets with testimonies to the piebald character of the American democracy jumbled together from a wonderful diversity of colors, creeds, and cultural dispensations, which is a swell story, but in the United States Senate not one visible to the naked eye. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, March 2005
8. The handsome creatures have hooked the interest of evolutionists and ecologists because of their dazzling diversity of shapes, behaviors, and feeding habits, which include nibbling the fins and scales of other fish. —Science, 26 Nov. 2004

Origin of DIVERSITY

(see diverse)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to DIVERSITY

Synonyms

assortment, diverseness, variety, heterogeneity, heterogeneousness, manifoldness, miscellaneousness, multifariousness, multiplicity, variousness

Antonyms

alikeness, analogousness, analogy, community, likeness, resemblance, sameness, similarity

Related Words

disparateness, disparity, dissimilarity, distinction, distinctiveness, distinctness, otherness, unlikeness

Near Antonyms

homogeneity, homogeneousness, likeness, sameness, similarity; fewness, paucity

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt