myriad
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.a very large or countless number of people or things.
n.an indefinitely great number; a vast multitude.
Simple“The city offers a myriad of activities for tourists during the summer months.”
In context“The researcher was overwhelmed by the myriad of conflicting data points that emerged during the final phase of the clinical trial.”
UsageOften used in the construction 'a myriad of' followed by a plural noun.
Teacher's tipTraditionalists sometimes argue against 'a myriad of', preferring the adjective use, but both are standard in modern formal English.
PitfallThere are myriad of reasons to go. There are a myriad of reasons to go. / There are myriad reasons to go.When using myriad as a noun, you need 'a' and 'of'. As an adjective, you use it directly before the noun.
- 02 C1 Advanced
adj.extremely great in number; too many to count.
adj.constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable.
Simple“We gazed up at the myriad stars shining in the clear night sky.”
In context“The new policy faced myriad challenges from local community leaders who feared the economic impact on small businesses.”
UsagePlaced directly before the noun it modifies.
SynonymsAntonymslimitedcountable - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.the number ten thousand, especially in ancient Greek history.
n.the number ten thousand; historically used in translations of Greek and Latin texts.
Simple“The ancient army was divided into units of a myriad each.”
In context“In classical Greek numeration, the myriad represented the largest named power of ten.”
UsageRarely used in modern contexts except when discussing historical military or mathematical systems.
Teacher's tipThis is the original meaning of the word; students will likely only encounter it in history books or classical literature.
Synonymsten thousand
“Growing up, I always thought I was carrying around myriad health problems, but this year, I discovered they were all connected to my bendy joints.”
“Since the site's discovery in the late 1800s, it has produced a myriad of pottery, figurines and carefully carved bone tools.”
From French myriade, from Late Latin mȳriadem (accusative of mȳrias), from Ancient Greek μυριάς (muriás, “number of 10,000”), from μυρίος (muríos, “numberless, countless, infinite”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.