1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

plethora

noun

ˈple-thə-rə How to pronounce plethora (audio)
Definition of plethoranext
1
as in plenty
an amount or supply more than sufficient to meet one's needs a biology textbook that is helpfully illustrated with a plethora of excellent illustrations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in surplus
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed the author offers a plethora of detail that tends to overwhelm the reader

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 plethora Travel + Leisure also spotted Pismo Beach’s plethora of tide pools, where beachcombers can find sea stars, crabs, anemones and more when the tide is low. — Sacbee.com, 30 Aug. 2026 Where to Eat and Drink Visitors have a plethora of dining experiences to choose from in Muskoka Lakes. — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 30 Aug. 2026 Mystery Men Throw it back to the Y2K era with this 1999 comedy starring a plethora of the era’s brightest comedic talents, including Ben Stiller, Kel Mitchell, Janeane Garofolo, and Paul Reubens. — Kara Nesvig, Parents, 29 Aug. 2026 These surveys yielded a plethora of astronomical discoveries, including that the universe is expanding. — Don Figer, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for plethora
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plethora
  1. abundance
  2. surplus
  3. wealth
  4. excess
Noun
  • Despite this modest tourism boom, the town retains plentiful architectural evidence of its history as a turn-of-the-century manufacturing hub, with an abundance of red-brick and steel edifices lining its streets.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Sep. 2026
  • This second shift seemed counterintuitive and maladaptive, since peak insect abundance is directly related to snowmelt.
    — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of abundance
Noun
  • South Africa has seemingly overcome its electricity crisis, with the country’s power utility, Eskom, reporting a power surplus during the winter peak-demand season, but civil society groups are wary of the surplus power being sold to data centers.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • But the study results overall indicate that wearables shouldn’t be the only way to track your calorie deficit or calorie surplus goal.
    — Michelle Marchante September 4, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of surplus
Noun
  • His fortune has also swelled thanks to gains from his private investment firm DFO Management—which manages his wealth and capital—and invests in public stocks, private companies, real estate, and liquid corporate credit.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The tax-aware long-short SMA trade became the hottest product in wealth management, and the two biggest custodians are actively shutting it down for new advisor allocations.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of wealth
Noun
  • The whole thing was essentially an American Cadillac crossed with an Italian coachbuilt exotic, at a time when Detroit was already going completely bonkers with automotive excess.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Ancient critics could never quite agree on the direction of causality between Euripides’ formal excesses and the political decay of Athens around him — and Lichtenberg thinks that same ambiguity now surrounds AI.
    — Aris Alexander, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of excess

Browse Nearby Words

pleonastic
plethora
plethoras
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Plethora.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plethora. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 quorum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
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
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All