plurality
noun
Simple meaning
A state of being numerous.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pleralihteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
plɚˈælɪti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
A number or part of a whole which is greater than any other number or part, but not necessarily a majority.
in an election with more than 2 options
The number of votes for the candidate or party receiving the greatest number (but less that half of the votes)
countable
A number of votes for a single candidate or position which is greater than the number of votes gained by any other single candidate or position voted for, but which is less than a majority of valid votes cast.
The state of being plural
“To mark plurality, one language may add an extra syllable to the word whereas another may simply change the vowel in the existing final syllable.”
countable
A margin by which a number exceeds another number, especially of votes.
A large indefinite number
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A number or part of a whole which is greater than any other number or part, but not necessarily a majority.
Used this way, plurality is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use plurality
- “To mark plurality, one language may add an extra syllable to the word whereas another may simply change the vowel in the existing final syllable.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A social organization in which diversity of racial or religious or ethnic or cultural groups is tolerated.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.