plentiful
Americanadjective
-
ample; abundant
-
having or yielding an abundance
a plentiful year
Synonym Usage
Plentiful, ample, abundant, bountiful describe a more than adequate supply of something. Plentiful suggests an over-adequate quantity: a plentiful supply. Ample suggests a more than adequate quality as well: to give ample praise. Abundant implies a greater degree of plenty, and bountiful a still more ample quality as well: an abundant, even a bountiful, harvest.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of plentiful
A late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at plenty, -ful
Explanation
If something is plentiful, there is a lot of it. Also, plentiful things yield large amounts of something, like an abundant farm. Apples are plentiful in a plentiful year on an apple farm. Plentiful is an adjective to describe “many” or “a lot.” It’s plenty for “very much” and -ful for “full of” so plentiful is full of very much! It’s a word for “large amounts.” If you have plenty of potato chips, you have a plentiful supply of chips. Also, something that has or produces great amounts can be called plentiful. A tree that spawns many apples is plentiful.
Vocabulary lists containing plentiful
Much Ado: Synonyms for "Many"
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Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014
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Z for Zachariah
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Duwai's vision for a plentiful marine habitat that would sustain his village of 147 people has now received global praise, with academics and charities seeking his insights.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
She believed failures could be managed with better storage and information about where supplies were plentiful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
It stinks if you get stuck in it, but it’s also a sign of a desirable situation, of good weather and lively culture and plentiful entertainment options that include, typically, winning baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
For U.S. refiners in particular, there’s also a longstanding disconnect between places where domestic crude supplies are plentiful, and therefore cheaper, and places where demand for fuels is at its highest.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
The walls and marble columns were hung with electric lamps that bathed the rooms in plentiful golden light.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
