much 1 of 3

adjective

ˈməch How to pronounce much (audio)
Definition of muchnext
as in significant
having great meaning or lasting effect actually, nothing much changed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

much

2 of 3

adverb

1
as in very
to a great degree much gratified by the favorable response to her novel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in highly
to a large extent or degree the new decorations made me much happier

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in almost
very close to but not completely today the old neighborhood looks much as it did years ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in often
many times I don't do that much anymore

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in about
close to but not exactly he behaves much the same as I did at that age

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

much

3 of 3

noun

as in plenty
a considerable amount much of what people think they know about words is inaccurate or downright false

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of much
Adjective
An early sign that this is happening is the phenomenon of companies putting caps and limits on how much their employees can spend on AI tokens, the basic cost-unit of AI. — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 7 July 2026 This feels unfair, especially when much AI development is being undertaken by large corporations with deep pockets. — Zoey Forbes, The Dial, 7 July 2026
Adverb
The series finds Elle as a high school student who suddenly moves away from her posh life in Bel Air and is forced to acclimate to a much more casual — and much less pink — Seattle. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2026 The first federal law to severely limit immigration had come much earlier, in 1882, when practically all Chinese people were barred from entering the country. — Albert Sun, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Noun
The hope was that Freese would grow into the tournament, and through his first three games at the World Cup, he wasn’t called on to do much. — Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 8 July 2026 With Aoki cruising, the offense didn’t have to do much, but the Trojans built momentum as the game progressed. — Shotgun Spratling, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for much
Recent Examples of Synonyms for much
  1. significant
  2. very
  3. highly
  4. almost
  5. often
  6. about
  7. ton
  8. important
Adjective
  • That’s reigniting age-old feuds about production quotas that already led the United Arab Emirates, one of OPEC’s most significant members, to leave the group in April.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • It is recommended that any batteries in devices that will be stored for significant periods should undergo a maintenance routine to maintain their health by charging them to half capacity every six months.
    — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of significant
Adverb
  • Despite consuming mass quantities of high-calorie foods during competition season, most professional competitive eaters are very lean.
    — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Music icon Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce, who announced their engagement in August 2025, are anticipated to tie the knot very soon.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
Definition of very
Adverb
  • Talks with Occhiuto were cordial, but Hammer made clear that alternative sources of international staff would be highly appreciated.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • Traditional industrial robotics require precise, expensive programming for highly specific environments.
    — Anjana Susarla, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of highly
Adverb
  • Mediators of the deal, led by Pakistan and Qatar, will almost certainly now be hurriedly trying to get the agreement back on the rails.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
  • In fact, the idea of splitting atoms for propulsion and power was being seriously considered almost as soon as the first atomic explosions were made public.
    — David Szondy July 07, New Atlas, 8 July 2026
Definition of almost
Adverb
  • In colonial times, cuts or injuries often led to bacterial infections.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • Stories about the Cherokee written by non-Native people in the late 1700s presented a skewed, often European-centric understanding of the tribe's culture.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of often
Adverb
  • Hernandez, 29, a contractor based in Franklin, about 20 miles south of Nashville, undertook the $380 project with furniture from HomeGoods after seeing his pet spend most of her life tucked away in a little corner.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • Back in the arena, Kaw-Liga lasts about five seconds on the mini bull.
    — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of about
Noun
  • Each scoop lifted tons of earth and rock as engineers raced to complete one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in history.
    — Malika Bowling, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • It is designed to place nearly a half-ton of payload mass into low-Earth orbit.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 3 July 2026
Definition of ton
Adjective
  • One interesting trend is that this tournament will feature some very good tight ends, a position that has become increasingly important in college football and the NFL but not so much in high school football in the era of spread offenses.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • As technology becomes more sophisticated and the number of living survivors continues to decline, preserving authentic testimony becomes even more important.
    — Eva Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2026
Definition of important

Phrases Containing much

Browse Nearby Words

Mrs. Grundys
much
much as
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Much.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/much. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on much

Nglish: Translation of much for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All