plenitude

noun

plen·​i·​tude ˈple-nə-ˌtüd 

-ˌtyüd

1

: the quality or state of being full : completeness

2

: a great sufficiency : abundance

Did you know?

Plenitude was first recorded in English during the 15th century and ultimately comes to us from "plenus," the Latin word for "full." "Plenus" has also given us "plenty," which in turn influenced a variation on "plenitude": "plentitude." Some usage commentators have objected to "plentitude," but it has been in use since the early 1600s and has appeared in the works of such writers as Henry James and Sir Walter Scott. Both words are used in the same sorts of contexts, but "plentitude" is not used as frequently as "plenitude."

Synonyms

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• dozen
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Examples of plenitude in a Sentence

She has gathered a plenitude of information on the topic.

there's a plenitude of natural beauty in the state

Recent Examples on the Web

He was known to his neighbors as Rich Nils, apparently because of the plenitude of fish in the waters near his home and, even more lucrative, the seals that showed up to hunt them. —Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024

Had God in his plenitude created one world or many? —Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 27 June 2024

Even Saito is forced to contend with our stubborn attraction to bounty, edging away from the austere vocabulary of degrowth by resorting to the language of plenitude. —Jennifer Szalai, New York Times, 8 June 2024

The Captain’s surreal American experience climaxes in a scene in which all four of Downey’s characters surround him at a restaurant, laughing at the absurd plenitude of their own power while seated on a red velvet banquette. —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin plēnitūdō, from plēnus "full" + -i- -i- + -tūdō -tude — more at full entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

plenitude

noun

plen·​i·​tude ˈplen-ə-ˌt(y)üd 

: the quality or state of being full or plentiful : abundance