Plurality Meaning
/plʊˈɹæləti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe state of being plural.
nounThe holding of multiple benefices.
Sentence Examples
She won the election with a plurality of the votes.
There is a plurality of opinions on this complex issue.
The candidate won a plurality of votes in the election.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the election, the candidate won a ____ of votes, getting more than any other but less than half.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The candidate won by a ____ rather than an outright majority, receiving more votes than any rival.
Word Origin & History
From plural + -ity, from Middle English pluralite, from Old French pluralité (“multitude, state of being plural”), from Latin plūrālitās.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Nominal plurality in Basque is originally exclusively marked on definite determiners and not on nouns."
— 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 333:
"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."
— 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica:
"“America will soon belong to the men and women … who can comfortably walk into a room and accept with real comfort the sensation that … there are no real majorities, only pluralities and coalitions."
— 2012 November 9, Josh Levs, “The New America: What the election teaches us about ourselves”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022:
"A plurality of respondents said Republicans were more to blame than Clinton in every single poll. Between 43% and 51% blamed Republicans and between 25% and 34% blamed Clinton, depending on the poll."
— 2019 January 11, Grace Sparks, “Who gets blamed for a government shutdown?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Sep 2023:
"It could also radicalize American politics and lead to presidents who are elected with very small pluralities, or who failed to qualify for the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.”"
— 2019 March 19, Zachary B. Wolf, “Why Democrats hate the Electoral College and Republicans love it”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Nov 2022:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the election, the candidate won a ____ of votes, getting more than any other but less than half.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The candidate won by a ____ rather than an outright majority, receiving more votes than any rival.