multiplicity
Americannoun
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multiplicities
plural
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a large number or variety.
a multiplicity of errors.
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the state of being multiplex or manifold; manifold variety.
noun
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a large number or great variety
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the state of being multiple
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physics
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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
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the number of elementary particles in a multiplet
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Usage
What does multiplicity mean? Multiplicity most commonly means a large number or a great variety. It is the noun form of the adjective multiple, meaning more than one or several. It can also mean the state of being multiple. Multiplicity is used in more specific ways in several different scientific fields, but all of them have to do with multiple instances of things. Example: When designing a craft for space travel, you have to consider a multiplicity of issues.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of multiplicity
1580–90; < Late Latin multiplicitās, equivalent to multiplic- (stem of multiplex ) multiplex + -itās -ity
Explanation
A multiplicity is a lot of something, usually countable and varied. If you're skilled in juggling, tightrope walking, and lion taming, you could call yourself a circus performer with a multiplicity of talents. Having a multiplicity of something is more than just having a lot of it. You may have a big pile of white tube socks, but that wouldn't qualify as a multiplicity. You'd have a multiplicity of socks if you've got not just the white tube socks, but striped knee socks for soccer, black silk socks to wear with your tuxedo, wool hiking socks, low tennis socks with pom-poms on the back, and socks with little pockets for your toes.
Vocabulary lists containing multiplicity
Paper Towns
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 34
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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.
See Examples For:
Looking beyond the current dynamics caused by the effective closure by Iran of the Strait of Hormuz, the more lasting trend of supply/demand imbalance is owing to a multiplicity of factors.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
They mix historical and contemporary art, a multiplicity of media and, often, objects from disparate periods and styles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Watching these and other documentaries in the course of a few days proved a refreshing, whirlwind reminder of the form’s multiplicity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
Still, the neurotypical viewer might wonder how accurately the series portrays neurodivergence, and indeed, within the community, which is nothing like homogeneous, one finds a multiplicity of views.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
“I prefer to be called William Spiver. It distinguishes me from the multiplicity of Williams in the world.”
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
You can argue about multiplicities of meanings, but the ear won’t have it both ways.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
TRY IT #2 Use the graph of the function of degree 7 in Figure 10 to identify the zeros of the function and their multiplicities.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 1, 2021
It’s praiseworthy that Disney has hired Mr. Coogler and Ms. DuVernay; Disney understands the audience in all its multiplicities.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2018
Allowing for multiplicities, a polynomial function will have the same number of factors as its degree.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
Tearing up such multiplicities, that it would be incredible if we should relate it all.
From The Ten Pleasures of Marriage and the Second Part, The Confession of the New Married Couple by A. Marsh
Definitions 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.
