What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Many vs Plural - What's the difference?

many | plural |

As nouns the difference between many and plural

is that many is a multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd while plural is plural (that form of a word which expresses or denotes more than one).

As a determiner many

is an indefinite large number of.

As a pronoun many

is a collective mass of people.

many

English

(wikipedia many)

Determiner

  • An indefinite large number of.
  • :
  • *Bible, (w) xvii.4:
  • *:Thou shalt be a father of many nations.
  • *
  • *:The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}

    Usage notes

    Many'' is used with plural nouns only (except in the combination many a). Its singular counterpart is much, which is used with uncountable nouns. ''Many'' and ''much merge in the comparison forms, which are more and most for both determiners.

    Antonyms

    * few

    Pronoun

    (English Pronouns)
  • A collective mass of people.
  • An indefinite large number of people or things.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
  • , chapter=4, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.}}

    Antonyms

    * few

    Derived terms

    * how many * many a * so many

    Quotations

    * 1611 — (King James Version of the Bible), 1:1 *: Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...

    Noun

    (manies)
  • A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd.
  • A considerable number.
  • Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    plural

    English

    (wikipedia plural)

    Alternative forms

    *

    Adjective

    (more)
  • Consisting of or containing more than one of something.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Plural faith, which is too much by one.
  • (comparable) Pluralistic.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Synonyms

    * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l)

    Antonyms

    * (l)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (grammar): a word in the form in which it potentially refers to something other than one person or thing; and other than two things if the language has a dual form.
  • Usage notes

    * Many languages have singular and plural forms for one item or more than one item. Some have a singular form for one, dual form for two, trial form for three, paucal form for several, and plural for more than two (e.g., Arabic, Fijian). * While the plural form generally refers to two or more persons or things, that is not always the case. The plural form is often used for zero persons or things, for fractional things in a quantity greater than one, and for people or things when the quantity is unknown. * In English, the plural is most often formed simply by adding the letter "s" to the end of a noun, e.g. apple/apples. There are many exceptions, however, such as echo/echoes, mouse/mice, child/children, deer/deer (same word), etc.

    Antonyms

    * singular

    See also

    * ----