manifold

[man-uh-fohld]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR manifold ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of many kinds; numerous and varied: manifold duties.

having numerous different parts, elements, features, forms, etc.: a manifold program for social reform.

using, functioning with, or operating several similar or identical devices at the same time.

(of paper business forms) made up of a number of sheets interleaved with carbon paper.

being such or so designated for many reasons: a manifold enemy.

noun

something having many different parts or features.

a copy or facsimile, as of something written, such as is made by manifolding.

any thin, inexpensive paper for making carbon copies on a typewriter.

Machinery. a chamber having several outlets through which a liquid or gas is distributed or gathered.

Philosophy. (in Kantian epistemology) the totality of discrete items of experience as presented to the mind; the constituents of a sensory experience.

Mathematics. a topological space that is connected and locally Euclidean.Compare locally Euclidean space.

verb (used with object)

to make copies of, as with carbon paper.

Origin of manifold

before 1000; Middle English; Old English manigf(e)ald (adj.). See many, -fold

Related formsman·i·fold·ly, adverbman·i·fold·ness, noun

Synonyms for manifold

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR manifold ON THESAURUS.COM

1. various, multitudinous. See many. 2. varied, divers, multifarious.

Antonyms for manifold

1. simple, single.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for manifold

multiplied, multiple, varied, assorted, diversified, complex, copious, different, diverse, multifarious, multitudinous, numerous, sundry, various, multiform, diversiform, multifold

Examples from the Web for manifold

Contemporary Examples of manifold

Manifold the wonders,” said Sophocles, “nothing towers more wondrous than man!
On Transhumanism and Why Technology Is Our Silicon Nervous System
Jason Silva
April 26, 2014
First, the Texas governor will have to explain away the manifold gaffes and failures from his last presidential campaign.
Can Rick Perry Get A Second Chance With GOP Voters In 2016
Myra Adams
March 29, 2014
But the accomplishments this group has managed to achieve in a very short time are manifold.
Newtown Six-Month Anniversary: The Victims Deserve More
Rob Cox
June 14, 2013
My first son was about to be born, and I was terrified that my manifold inadequacies as a man would sabotage my success as a dad.
The Promise of Happiness After the Newtown Shooting
William Giraldi
January 27, 2013
Tributes to Barzun, who authored a massive shelf full of books from 1932-2004, will and have been manifold.
Remembering Jacques Barzun Remembering Robert Pitney
Paul Devlin
October 30, 2012

Historical Examples of manifold

And you think that with all your manifold advantages you're a happier man than me.
The Slave Of The Lamp
Henry Seton Merriman
She answered me as follows: 'There is poetry, which, as you know, is complex and manifold.
Symposium
Plato
We mean the integrity of impression made by manifold natural objects.
Nature
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The difficulties of introducing a sportsman-like ideal have been manifold.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
His weaknesses were manifold, but, on the whole, of a negative kind.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for manifold

manifold

adjective formal

of several different kinds; multiplemanifold reasons

having many different forms, features, or elementsmanifold breeds of dog

noun

something having many varied parts, forms, or features

a copy of a page, book, etc

a chamber or pipe with a number of inlets or outlets used to collect or distribute a fluid. In an internal-combustion engine the inlet manifold carries the vaporized fuel from the carburettor to the inlet ports and the exhaust manifold carries the exhaust gases away

maths

a collection of objects or a set
a topological space having specific properties

(in the philosophy of Kant) the totality of the separate elements of sensation which are then organized by the active mind and conceptualized as a perception of an external object

verb

(tr) to duplicate (a page, book, etc)

to make manifold; multiply

Derived Formsmanifolder, nounmanifoldly, adverbmanifoldness, noun

Word Origin for manifold

Old English manigfeald. See many, -fold

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

Word Origin and History for manifold

adj.

Old English monigfald (Anglian), manigfeald (West Saxon), "various, varied in appearance, complicated; numerous, abundant," from manig (see many) + -feald (see -fold). A common Germanic compound (cf. Old Frisian manichfald, Middle Dutch menichvout, German mannigfalt, Swedish mångfalt, Gothic managfalþs), perhaps a loan-translation of Latin multiplex (see multiply). Retains the original pronunciation of many. Old English also had a verbal form, manigfealdian "to multiply, abound, increase, extend."

adv.

Old English manigfealdlic "in various ways, manifoldly," from the source of manifold (adj.).

in mechanical sense, first as "pipe or chamber with several outlets," 1884, see manifold (adj.); originally as manifold pipe (1857), with reference to a type of musical instrument mentioned in the Old Testament.

manifold in Science

manifold

[măn′ə-fōld′]

A topological space or surface.