multiplicity

[ muhl-tuh-plis-i-tee ]

noun

, plural mul·ti·plic·i·ties.

1. a large number or variety:

   a multiplicity of errors.

2. the state of being multiplex or manifold; manifold variety.

multiplicity

/ ˌmʌltɪˈplɪsɪtɪ /

noun

1. a large number or great variety
2. the state of being multiple
3. physics
   1. the number of levels into which the energy of an atom, molecule, or nucleus splits as a result of coupling between orbital angular momentum and spin angular momentum
   2. the number of elementary particles in a multiplet

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiplicity¹

1580–90; < Late Latin multiplicitās, equivalent to multiplic- (stem of multiplex ) multiplex + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

“It was about London and the multiplicity of people and realities that are there,” Durran says.

From Los Angeles Times

Recent histories of the Blackwells and the Grimkes have expanded our understanding of how progress is rarely spurred by a single, unsullied person; it takes a multiplicity.

From Los Angeles Times

From the moment he got his first defensive coordinator job with the University of Michigan in 2021, Mike Macdonald has preached the gospel of multiplicity.

From Seattle Times

Los Angeles’ sprawl allows for a multiplicity of cultures to have their own hubs, rather than a general international district such as in Seattle or the pan-Asian Flushing in New York.

From Los Angeles Times

This fluidity is evident in tracks like "Jennifer's Body" and "Gutless," where Love adopts different personas to explore the multiplicity of feminine identity and challenge essentialist notions of womanhood.

From Salon

Related Words

• jumble
• profusion