multivalent
adjective
mul·ti·va·lent
ˌməl-tē-ˈvā-lənt 
-ˌtī-
-ˌtī-
especially in sense 3
ˌməl-ˈti-və-
1
2
: represented more than twice in the somatic chromosome number
multivalent chromosomes
3
: having many values, meanings, or appeals
multivalent
noun
Examples of multivalent in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This collection of memories — snapshots of a year in many lives — also serves as a multivalent gay history from almost a decade before Stonewall to the day before yesterday.
—
Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 2024
Taormina’s fondly multivalent, Millennial-Norman-Rockwell perspective incorporates a child’s experience of the holiday, overlaid with a teen’s and a parent’s and a grandparent’s and so on.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 17 May 2024
Though Ruscha’s multivalent work was the subject of a mid-career survey at LACMA in 1982, his retrospective — eight years in the making, partly because of COVID — has arrived at a peak moment.
—Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Despite the multivalent talents of Ives and Mantello, though, the piece, finished without Sondheim, cannot mend the ragged edge torn by his absence.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for multivalent 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 2024
Taormina’s fondly multivalent, Millennial-Norman-Rockwell perspective incorporates a child’s experience of the holiday, overlaid with a teen’s and a parent’s and a grandparent’s and so on.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 17 May 2024
Though Ruscha’s multivalent work was the subject of a mid-career survey at LACMA in 1982, his retrospective — eight years in the making, partly because of COVID — has arrived at a peak moment.
—Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Despite the multivalent talents of Ives and Mantello, though, the piece, finished without Sondheim, cannot mend the ragged edge torn by his absence.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for multivalent
Dictionary Entries Near multivalent
Cite this Entry
“Multivalent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multivalent. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
multivalent
1 of 2 adjective
mul·ti·va·lent
ˌməl-ti-ˈvā-lənt
-ˌtī-
-ˌtī-
1
2
: represented more than twice in the somatic chromosome number
multivalent chromosomes
multivalent
2 of 2 noun
: a multivalent group of chromosomes
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share