profusion

American  

[pruh-fyoo-zhuhn] / prəˈfju ʒən /

noun

profusions plural

1. abundance; abundant quantity.

   Synonyms:

   bounty, copiousness

   Antonyms:

   scarcity

2. a great quantity or amount (often followed byof ).

3. lavish spending; extravagance.

   Synonyms:

   waste, excess, profligacy, prodigality

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Synonym Usage

See plenty.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• profusions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of profusion

First recorded in 1535–45; rom Latin profūsiōn- (stem of profūsiō ) “a pouring out, extravagance,” originally, “libation”; see profuse, fusion

Explanation

If there's an abundance of something, you can say that there's a profusion of it. Hilarious and bizarre YouTube videos certainly exist in profusion. The noun profusion comes from a Latin word profusionem, meaning "a pouring out." So you can think of profusion as an outpouring of something — an overflow or cornucopia of it. An area known for wine making should have a profusion of grapes growing along the hillsides. And an awesome performance should garner a profusion of compliments and shouts of "encore!"

Example Sentences

That it is known to few, most falling into one of the extremes, Avarice or Profusion, v.1, etc. 

From An Essay on Man by Morley, Henry

Profusion is a characteristic of the American newspaper.

From Roving East and Roving West by Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)

The man who is in the state of excess, called one of Vulgar Profusion, is in excess because he spends improperly, as has been said.

From Ethics by Aristotle

You plunder One, who entertain’d you with all the Pomp and Profusion in the World, to enrich a covetous, sordid Wretch, who treated you in the most unworthy Manner.

From Zadig Or, The Book of Fate by Voltaire

His Table, which is then spread for sixteen Guests, is serv'd with more Delicacy than Profusion.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Related Words

• glut
• outpouring