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congeries

American  
[kon-jeer-eez, kon-juh-reez] / kɒnˈdʒɪər iz, ˈkɒn dʒə riz /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)
  1. a collection of items or parts in one mass; assemblage; aggregation, heap.

    From the airplane the town resembled a congeries of tiny boxes.


congeries British  
/ kɒnˈdʒɪəriːz /

noun

  1. (functioning as singular or plural) a collection of objects or ideas; mass; heap

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of congeries

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin: “a heap, pile, collection,” equivalent to conger- (stem of congerere “to collect, heap up,” equivalent to con-, combining form + gerere “to bear, carry”) + -iēs abstract noun suffix; see con-

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.

See Examples For:

My own are his pansy collages, tightly packed, edge-to-edge congeries of overlapping floral faces that give off a bright radiance as well as well as a sense of menacing, staring eyes.

From New York Times Nov. 16, 2022

The sixties may be just another decade, but The Sixties are something more – a mood, a state of mind, a way of life, a congeries of sounds and images.

From The Guardian Apr. 15, 2018

Though Spencer came up with the term, it has come to define a broader congeries of reaction.

From Slate Aug. 25, 2016

Twitter became a weird congeries of protest updates and jokes about Smee.

From The New Yorker Dec. 5, 2014

"Positive philosophy," with complacent sciolism, may still coldly asseverate that the world is a dead congeries of "laws," into whose realm man is cast to take pot-luck in the universe; but we shall know better.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 95, September 1865 by Various

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