Quantity and Partitives: English Vocabulary List

a group of various kinds or categories of items or people

"The store has an assortment of candies."

"The shop offers a wide assortment of candies and chocolates for customers."

something in large amounts or numbers

"A slew of problems arose."

"There was a whole slew of problems that appeared after the new system was installed."

a number of things or people considered as a group or set

"She baked a batch of cookies."

"The factory produced a new batch of products last week for the big export order."

a large number of fish swimming together

"A huge shoal of fish swam together near the coral reef."

"Dolphins were seen playfully chasing a large shoal of sardines along the shoreline."

a great or excessive number or amount of something

"The buffet offered a plethora of desserts."

"The buffet offered a plethora of delicious options including seafood meats salads and desserts."

a collection of items, typically papers or stalks of grain, bound together

"Sheaf of papers."

"The teacher carried a thick sheaf of papers containing all the students' exam results."

a sudden and fast growth or increase in something

"The proliferation of fast food restaurants is changing how people eat today."

"Nuclear proliferation is the rapid spread of nuclear weapons technology to states that previously did not possess such destructive military capabilities."

an immeasurably large quantity

"Infinitude of stars."

"We can see the infinitude of stars shining brightly in the clear night sky."

the action of calculating, counting, or estimating something

"Day of reckoning."

"The day of reckoning finally came when the corrupt officials had to face justice for their crimes."

an unusually or even luxuriously large volume of people or things concentrated into an area

"A profusion of stars."

"The garden was a profusion of colorful flowers, attracting a multitude of buzzing bees."

a large quantity or amount of something

"The garden provides an abundance of vegetables."

"There is an abundance of fresh food available in the market during the harvest season."

a lacking amount or number of something

"The paucity of evidence led to an acquittal."

"There is a paucity of clean drinking water in many remote villages during the dry season."

the gap between the quantity or amount that is needed or expected and what is actually available

"The shortfall in funding hurt the project."

"The government faced a serious budget shortfall at the end of the financial year."

indicating a large number of something

"Her excuses are numerous."

"She has numerous friends from different countries because she loves to travel and meet new people everywhere."

impossible to be individually counted or named due to their overwhelming quantity

"There are innumerable stars."

"There are innumerable stars in the night sky and only a fraction of them are visible to the naked eye."

existing in large amounts

"The harvest is bountiful."

"The bountiful harvest provided enough food for the entire village to survive through the cold winter months without any problem."

close to a certain quality or quantity, but not exact or precise

"The number is approximate."

"The approximate cost of the repairs is five hundred dollars but it could be more or less."

not enough in degree or amount

"The funds are insufficient."

"The insufficient funds in his account meant he could not pay for the car repairs."

having measurable limits or boundaries

"The resource is finite."

"The earth has a finite supply of fossil fuels so we must find renewable energy sources."

available in large quantity

"The food is plentiful."

"The plentiful supply of clean water in the region attracted many settlers who built farms along the river banks permanently."

increasing gradually as more and more is added

"The effect is cumulative."

"The cumulative effect of years of smoking damaged his lungs beyond repair."

containing numerous diverse parts or aspects

"Her interests are multifarious."

"The multifarious duties of the job included accounting marketing and customer service."

to an almost complete degree

"It's virtually impossible."

"Virtually everyone agreed with the plan except for a few people who had some concerns about the cost."

with no one or nothing else involved

"He is solely responsible for this mess."

"He is solely responsible for this mess because he made all the decisions without consulting anyone else."

in a manner that is only available to a particular person, group, or thing

"This club is exclusively for members."

"This club is exclusively for members and their guests so you cannot enter unless you have a valid membership card."

only minimally or occasionally, so as to avoid excess

"Use the salt sparingly."

"Use the salt sparingly because too much of it can ruin the dish and make it too salty to eat."

to be plentiful or to exist in large quantities

"Fish abound in these waters."

"The tropical rainforest abounds with a huge variety of plant and animal species that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth."

to reach the highest level, point, or intensity

"Temperatures peak in the afternoon."

"The athlete's performance tends to peak during major competitions when the pressure is highest and the stakes are greatest."

to be greater in number than someone or something else

"The tourists outnumber the locals here."

"The female students in the language class far outnumber the male students by a ratio of nearly three to one."

the major portion or greater part of something, often referring to the size or quantity of an object or substance

"Buy in bulk."

"It is cheaper to buy goods in bulk from the wholesale market every month."

an amount or number that is considered to be large

"Spate of accidents."

"There was a spate of car accidents on the icy road during the cold winter weather last month."

a group of numbers, mathematical symbols or values, arranged in columns and rows

"An array of numbers."

"The scientist used a large array of sensors to collect data from the experiment."

a vast and varied quantity of things or people

"A myriad of stars."

"The library offered a myriad of resources for students researching ancient civilizations."

a large crowd of people or collection of things

"A host of people."

"The stadium was filled with a host of cheering fans eager to witness the championship game."

a social group of aquatic mammals, such as whales or dolphins

"A pod of dolphins."

"The playful pod of dolphins leaped joyfully through the ocean waves, communicating with clicks and whistles."

a group of people with special skills or knowledge who have been brought together to discuss, give advice, or make a decision about an issue

"Panel discussed important topic."

"The panel discussed the topic after the presentation."

used to indicate that a date, time, or number is approximate

"The cost is one hundred dollars or thereabouts."

"The cost is one hundred dollars or thereabouts so you should bring a little extra just in case."

a rapid, unexpected, and considerable rise in something

"An explosion of growth."

"The sudden explosion of online retail has fundamentally changed the way people shop."

the size, amount, or degree of one thing compared with another

"The map has a scale of one inch to a mile."

"The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale used to quantify the size of earthquakes based on the amplitude of seismic waves recorded by seismographs."

the result obtained when one quantity considered in relation to the whole

"What is the proportion?"

"The proportion of students who passed the exam was significantly higher than in previous years."

more than enough to meet the needs or exceed expectations

"The space is ample."

"The ample parking lot behind the stadium could hold thousands of cars during the big game."

not meeting the expected level of quality, skill, or ability

"The food was inadequate."

"His performance in the exam was inadequate, failing to meet the required standard."

existing in smaller amounts than what is needed

"Water is scarce here."

"Clean drinking water is scarce in many parts of Africa and Asia today."

including or considering everything or everyone in a certain situation or group

"The overall score is good."

"The overall performance of the team improved significantly after implementing the new training regimen."

pertaining to or involving of two distinct elements or parts

"The code is binary."

"The binary code uses only zeros and ones to represent information in computers."

existing in great amounts or numbers

"The author is prolific."

"The prolific author wrote over fifty novels during her long and successful career."

to approximate a numerical value by adjusting it to the nearest convenient or significant digit

"Round the number to two decimals."

"Please round the number to the nearest whole number because the decimal places are not important for this calculation."

to make a rough guess about quantities or time

"Approximate the total cost roughly."

"It is difficult to approximate the total cost of the project because material prices seem to fluctuate unpredictably every day."

to control or restrict something to a specified amount or level

"Number your guests."

"We must number our expenses carefully to stay within the allocated budget this quarter."

to roughly estimate quantities or time

"Gauge the depth of the water carefully."

"It is difficult to gauge the true extent of the damage until the flood waters completely recede from the affected areas."