Myriad Meaning
/ˈmɪɹi.æd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adj/nounA countless or extremely great number of things.
nounTen thousand; 10,000
Sentence Examples
The city offers myriad opportunities for entertainment.
She faced myriad challenges in her new role.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The complex project unexpectedly faced a ____ of challenges that required immediate attention.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
When we looked up at the night sky far away from the city lights, we could see a ____ of bright stars shining in the dark universe.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Ancient Greek μῡρῐ́ος (mūrĭ́os) Ancient Greek -ᾰ́ς (-ắs) Ancient Greek μῡρῐᾰ́ς (mūrĭắs)bor. Late Latin mȳriasbor. French myriade English myriad 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”). By surface analysis, myria- + -ad.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"O Myriads of immortal Spirits, O Powers / Matchleſs, but with th' Almighty, and that ſtrife / Was not inglorious, though th' event was dire,"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 622–624:
"A myriad of beginnings to her intended discourse darted into her mind; but, as is usual in such cases, she chose the one the very worst suited to her purpose. "I never intend to marry," said she, in a faltering voice."
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 239:
"I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, / And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them, / I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war, […]"
— 1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:
"How far he surpassed them all may be felt if we remember that no Scythian, although the Scythians are reckoned by their myriads, has ever succeeded in dominating a foreign nation ..."
— 1914, Henry Graham Dakyns, Xenophon, Cyropaedia, Book I:
"His crude additions, especially the inclusion of Herr Barkheimer, turned the collection into something resembling an orgy, complete with a myriad of sex devices."
— 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 47:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The complex project unexpectedly faced a ____ of challenges that required immediate attention.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
When we looked up at the night sky far away from the city lights, we could see a ____ of bright stars shining in the dark universe.