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REFERENCE

manifold

adj.
C2 Proficiency US //ˈmænəˌfoʊɫd// UK //mˈænɪfˌəʊld// man·i·fold Archaic Dialect

adj. describing something that has many different parts, forms, or types. You use this word to emphasize how much variety or complexity something has.

adj. having many and various forms, features, or applications. Often used in formal or literary contexts to emphasize diversity or complexity within a single system or entity.


SIMPLE

The benefits of regular exercise are manifold.

CONTEXTUAL

The reasons for the company's sudden collapse were manifold, ranging from poor management to shifting global market trends.

COMPLEX

Scholars have noted that the implications of this discovery are manifold, affecting not only our understanding of ancient history but also modern linguistic theory.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English manifold, from Old English maniġfeald (“manifold, various, varied, complicated, numerous, abundant, plural”), from Proto-Germanic *managafalþaz, equivalent to many + -fold. Cognate with Middle High German manecvalt (“manifold”), Icelandic margfaldr (“multiple”). Compare also German mannigfaltig (“various”), Dutch menigvoudig (“various”), Danish mangefold (“multiple”), Swedish mångfald (“diversity”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English manifolden, from Old English maniġfealdan (“to multiply, abound, increase, extend, reward”), equivalent to many + -fold. Cognate with Middle High German manecvalten, Icelandic margfalda (“to multiply”), Swedish mångfaldiga (“to manifold, reproduce”).

Usage

Typically used as an attributive adjective before a noun, or predicatively after a linking verb like 'be'.

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