plethora

pleth·o·ra

noun \ˈple-thə-rə\

Definition of PLETHORA

1

: a bodily condition characterized by an excess of blood and marked by turgescence and a florid complexion

2

: excess, superfluity; also : profusion, abundance

— ple·tho·ric \plə-ˈthȯr-ik, ple-, -ˈthär-; ˈple-thə-rik\ adjective

Examples of PLETHORA

1. A plethora of books have been written on the subject.
2. <a biology textbook that is helpfully illustrated with a plethora of excellent illustrations>
3. There has been a plethora of plays in recent years whose claim to modernity is based on indicated rather than felt emotion. —Arthur Miller, Harper's, March 1999
4. The plethora of short-lived ceasefires in the Balkans and the Caucasus constitute proof that we are no longer in a world where the old rules of state warfare apply. —Robert D. Kaplan, Atlantic, February 1994
5. In their view, there are the very few hard-pressed good guys losing the landscape to a plethora of bad guys. —Carol Bly, Letters from the Country, 1981
6. … served at the long plank table in the banquet hut, amid a plethora of toasts to progress, amity, and the overthrow of imperialism—the meal passed in a blur. —John Updike, Trust Me, (1962) 1987

Origin of PLETHORA

Medieval Latin, from Greek plēthōra, literally, fullness, from plēthein to be full — more at full

First Known Use: 1541

Related to PLETHORA

Synonyms: abundance, cornucopia, feast, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, superabundance, wealth

Antonyms: deficiency, inadequacy, insufficiency, undersupply

Related Words: adequacy, competence, competency, sufficiency; ampleness, amplitude, liberality; excess, overdose, overflow, overkill, oversupply, redundancy, superfluity, superfluousness, surfeit, surplus; copiousness, fecundity, fertility, fruitfulness, opulence, richness; lavishness, luxuriance

Near Antonyms: paucity, poverty, scarcity; barrenness, infertility, sterility

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