profusion

[pruh-fyoo-zhuhn]

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of profusion¹

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

Synonym Study

See plenty.

Example Sentences

She journeys to Chile’s remote Punta Arenas, home to the scenic Sara Braun Municipal Cemetery, a profusion of pruned cypress trees and a statue of an Unknown Indian.

From Los Angeles Times

This profusion has made the convenience store business one of the most fast-paced and competitive in the country — one that moves in lockstep with boom-and-bust social media attention spans.

From Los Angeles Times

He certainly is not advocating violent demonstrations but even a profusion of peaceful protests elsewhere would still require an increase in public-order policing.

From BBC

And the sharks — who do not seem particularly interested in the humans, as there is no lack of familiar lunch options — do sometimes arrive in great, unsettling profusion.

From Los Angeles Times

Of course, there was a profusion of great minds in California’s fertile Santa Clara Valley, innovators and visionaries blessed with a superhuman capacity to peer around corners and deep into the future.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• glut 
• outpouring