plenteous
Americanadjective
-
plentiful; copious; abundant.
a plenteous supply of food.
-
yielding abundantly; fruitful.
a plenteous harvest.
adjective
-
ample; abundant
a plenteous supply of food
-
producing or yielding abundantly
a plenteous grape harvest
Other Word Forms
- overplenteous adjective
- overplenteously adverb
- overplenteousness noun
- plenteously adverb
- plenteousness noun
- unplenteous adjective
- unplenteously adverb
Etymology
Origin of plenteous
1250–1300; Middle English plenteus ( plenty, -ous ); replacing Middle English plentivous < Old French plentivos, equivalent to plentif abundant ( plent ( e ) plenty + -if -ive ) + -os -ous
Explanation
Something that's plenteous is abundant — there's plenty of it. If the spaghetti at dinner is plenteous, you won't think twice about having seconds, or even thirds. You can use the adjectives plenteous and plentiful interchangeably, although plenteous is the more literary and poetic of the two words. A farmer might say happily, "The corn harvest sure was plenteous this year!" or you could say, "My friends are so plenteous, I'm having trouble choosing just three to invite to my pool party this weekend." Plenteous was originally plentivous, from the Old French plentiveus, "fertile," from plentee, "abundance."
Vocabulary lists containing plenteous
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Othello
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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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.
The Valentino gown was fine on its own, but it clashed with everything else: the plenteous flags, the carpeting, the black-and-blue palette established by her family members.
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2021
This road trip produced plenteous fruits, even as the Wizards planted seeds of poor defense in each city along the way.
From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2017
Given authority over the land, Joseph stored corn in the plenteous years and sold it back to the people during the famine for gold rings, cattle and land.
From Time Magazine Archive
To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
From Time Magazine Archive
Within, the cheer, if not luxurious, was plenteous and grateful.
From The Lucky Piece A Tale of the North Woods by Paine, Albert Bigelow
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.
