plurality

 plurality on Wikipedia

English

Etymology

plural +‎ -ity, from Middle English pluralite, from Old French pluralité (“multitude, state of being plural”), from Latin plūrālitās.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plʊˈɹæləti/
• Rhymes: -ælɪti

Noun

plurality (countable and uncountable, plural pluralities)

1. (uncountable) The state of being plural.
2. (ecclesiastical) The holding of multiple benefices.

   Synonym: pluralism

   • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica:

     It was the complaint and lamentation of Prelats, upon every least breath of a motion to remove pluralities, and distribute more equally Church revennu's, that then all learning would be for ever dasht and discourag'd.

3. (countable) A state of being numerous.

   Synonym: multiplicity

4. (countable) A number or part of a whole which is greater than any other number or part, but not necessarily a majority.
5. (countable) A number of votes for a single candidate or position which is greater than the number of votes gained by any other single candidate or position voted for, but which is less than a majority of valid votes cast.

   Synonym: relative majority

   • 1977 September 8, "Crime against clarity", editorial, Bangor Daily News, page 14 :

     To repeal the tax (Question I), a 50 per cent majority vote is required. To keep the tax in its 1976 form (Question III), only a plurality of votes is required.

6. (countable) A margin by which a number exceeds another number, especially of votes.
   • 1948 December 10, “President Race Ignored by 683,382 Voters”, in The Deseret News‎, page A-2:

     Truman's total vote was 24,104,836. Dewey received 21,969,500; […] . Truman won by a plurality of 2,135,336, but it was the first time since 1916 that a winner has failed to capture a majority of all votes cast.

7. (countable) A group of many entities: a large number.

   A plurality of ideas were put forth at the meeting, most of which were rejected out of hand.

8. (countable) A group composed of more than one entity.
   • 1989, United States Patent 5065364, abstract:

     The array is organized into a plurality of vertical (column) blocks.

9. (of spouses) Polygamy.
10. (psychology) The condition of a single body/person displaying multiple distinct personas.

    Synonym: multiplicity

    • 2016, Lori F. Clarke, “Embracing Polyphony: Voices, Improvisation, and the Hearing Voices Network”, in Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, volume 5, number 2, page 1:

      In this paper I argue that hearing voices experiences and plurality are part of a broad, rich, and complex spectrum of human experience, […]

    • 2020, Tynan Drake, "Intersectional Representation: LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse voices in transmedia fiction", paper submitted to Ball State University, page 5:

      Clinical psychology tends to lean towards early childhood trauma as an explanation for the development of plurality, but many members of the plurality community report experiencing a multiplicity of selves before, or even completely in the absence of, trauma.

    • 2020, Meg-John Barker, “Plural selves, queer, and comics”, in Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, volume 11, number 4:

      People often find it easiest to recognise plurality in themselves when they reflect on how they behave in different relationships or situations.

    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:plurality.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “state of being more than one”): singularity

Coordinate terms

• superminority, qualified minority, simple majority, relative majority, absolute majority, qualified majority, supermajority

Derived terms

• plurality rule

Translations