many

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1. Many, like much, tends to sound more formal in positive contexts (They have many friends) than in negative ones (They do not have many friends). In conversation and less formal written English, a lot of (or, even more informally, lots of) is used instead in positive contexts.

2. The type many a, though notionally plural, always entails a singular construction:

Many a prostitute, whether she calls herself a...hostess, or a common whore, imagines that she is exploiting the male sex—Germaine Greer, 1970.

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adjective

Amounting to or consisting of a large, indefinite number: legion, multitudinous, myriad, numerous. Idioms: quite a few. See big/small/amount.

Idioms beginning with many:
many a
many hands make light work
many happy returns
many is the

See also as many; good (great) many; in so many words; irons in the fire, too many; so many; too many cooks spoil the broth.

adj

Definition: profuse, abundant
Antonyms: few, scarce

n

Definition: abundance; a lot
Antonyms: few

IN BRIEF: Amounting to a large number.

Life is fortified by many friendships. — Sydney Smith, (1771-1845), English clergyman & essayist.

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sign description: Both hands begin with closed fists and then move to two open 5-hands, palms up. (can be a repeated motion)

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For a list of words related to many, see:

• Maximizers and Superlatives

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See words rhyming with "many."

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Dansk (Danish)
det. - mange, talrige, mangfoldige
pron. - mange, et stort antal
adj. - mange
n. - mangen

idioms:

• in so many words    med rene ord
• many a time    mangen en gang
• many happy returns    tillykke (med fødselsdagen)
• many's the time    tit og ofte

Nederlands (Dutch)
menige, menigeen, veel, groot deel

Français (French)
pron. - beaucoup de, beaucoup
adj. - plusieurs, beaucoup de, un grand nombre de, nombreux, nombreuses
n. - la foule, les masses, du plus grand nombre, nombreuses personnes

idioms:

• have one too many    avoir bu un coup de trop (fam)
• in so many words    explicitement, en propres termes
• many a time    maintes fois, souvent
• many happy returns    meilleurs voeux
• many's the time    maintes fois

Deutsch (German)
adj. - viel
n. - viele, die Mehrheit
pron. - viel

idioms:

• have one too many    er hat einen od. ein Glas zuviel getrunken
• in so many words    ausdrücklich
• many a time    so manches Mal
• many happy returns    Herzlichen Glückwunsch
• many's the time    so manches Mal

Ελληνική (Greek)
pron. - πολλοί
adj. - πολλοί, πολυάριθμοι
adv. - πολλά
n. pl. - (οι) πολλοί

idioms:

• in so many words    με τα ίδια περίπου λόγια
• many a time    πολλάκις, πλειστάκις
• many happy returns    χρόνια πολλά
• many's the time    πολλές φορές, συχνά

Italiano (Italian)
parecchi, molti

idioms:

• a good/great many    un buon numero
• in so many words    direttamente
• many a time    spesso
• many happy returns    cento di questi giorni
• many's the time    spesso e volentieri

Português (Portuguese)
pron. - muitos
adj. - muito
adv. - muito
n. pl. - muita gente

idioms:

• a good/great many    muitos
• in so many words    nas palavras exatas
• many a time    muitas vezes
• many happy returns    que esta data feliz se repita por muitos anos
• many's the time    freqüentemente

Русский (Russian)
много, многие

idioms:

• a good/great many    изрядное количество
• in so many words    сказать напрямик
• many a time    много раз
• many happy returns    поздравляю с днем рождения
• many's the time    часто

Español (Spanish)
det. - varios, muchos
pron. - muchos
adj. - varios, muchos, numerosos, diversos
n. - muchos, número (cantidad de)

idioms:

• have one too many    tener uno de más, ser más listo, fuerte, etc. que
• in so many words    concretamente, exactamente
• many a time    más de una vez, muchas veces
• many happy returns    ¡feliz cumpleaños!
• many's the time    muchas veces, más de una vez

Svenska (Swedish)
pron. - många, mycket
adj. - många
adv. - mång-
n. pl. - mycket

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
许多的, 许多, 多数, 群众

idioms:

• in so many words    明确地
• many a time    许多次
• many happy returns    敬祝快乐
• many's the time    许多时间, 许多次

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
det. - 許多的
pron. - 許多
adj. - 許多的
n. - 多數, 群眾

idioms:

• in so many words    明確地
• many a time    許多次
• many happy returns    敬祝快樂
• many's the time    許多時間, 許多次

한국어 (Korean)
det. - (가산 또는 불 가산의) 많은
pron. - 많은 수의, 많은 양의
adj. - 다수의, 산재한
n. - 대중

idioms:

• in so many words    확실하게, 글자 그대로의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 多数の, 多くの, たくさんの
n. - 多数, 大多数, 大衆

idioms:

• a good/great many    多くの
• in so many words    文字どおりに, はっきりと
• many a time    何度も
• many happy returns    長寿を祈ります
• many respects    ごきげんよう
• many strings to one's bow    万が一の準備がある
• of many years' standing    長い年月の間
• so many    同数, 幾ら幾らの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(ضمير) عدد من المرات (صفه) كثير (ظرف) بكثرة (الجمع) كثرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
det. - ‮רבים, הרבה‬
pron. - ‮רבים, רוב‬
adj. - ‮רב, רב-, הרבה‬
n. - ‮רבים‬

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