multiplicity

mul·ti·plic·i·ty

noun \ˌməl-tə-ˈpli-sə-tē\

plural mul·ti·plic·i·ties

Definition of MULTIPLICITY

1

a : the quality or state of being multiple or various b : the number of components in a system (as a multiplet or a group of energy levels)

2

: a great number

3

: the number of times a root of an equation or zero of a function occurs when there is more than one root or zero <the multiplicity of x = 2 for the equation (x − 2)³ = 0 is 3>

Examples of MULTIPLICITY

1. <a multiplicity of suggestions for turning the company around>
2. <Shakespeare's works seem to encompass the full multiplicity of human experience.>

Origin of MULTIPLICITY

Middle English, from Middle French multiplicité, from Late Latin multiplicitat-, multiplicitas, from Latin multiplic-, multiplex

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to MULTIPLICITY

Synonyms: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, mass, mess, mountain, much, lot, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, sheaf, shipload, sight, slew, spate, stack, store, ton, truckload, volume, wad, wealth, yard

Antonyms: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace

Related Words: epidemic, plague, rash; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; deluge, flood, overflow; army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng; gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion

Near Antonyms: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit; smatter, smattering; dash, drop, morsel, shot; piece, portion, section; absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want; deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

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Rhymes with MULTIPLICITY

authenticity, catholicity, domesticity, eccentricity, elasticity, electricity, historicity, specificity, synchronicity