Meanings
plural myriads
- A countless number or multitude (of specified things)First known use 16th c.
Earth hosts a myriad of animals.
5 more examples
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 622–624A 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 239I 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 poemsHow 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 IHis 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
- not comparableMultifaceted, having innumerable elements.First known use 18th c.
"As a clinician, it's a difficult symptom to treat," Cornelius said. "The end symptom may be the same, but what's causing it may be myriad."
2011 April 6–19, Kara Krekeler, "Researchers at Washington U. have 'itch' to cure problem", West End Word, 40 (7), p. 81 more example
one night he would be singing at the barred window and yelling down out of the soft myriad darkness of a May night; the next night he would be gone [...].
1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 131 - not comparableGreat in number; innumerable, multitudinous.First known use 18th c.
Earth hosts myriad animals.
1 more example
Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.
2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022, retrieved 28 Sep 2013
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of decamillennium: a period of 10000 years.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivetoo numerous to be counted
nounthe cardinal number that is the product of ten and one thousand
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμῡρῐ́ος (mūrĭ́os)
- Ancient Greekμῡρῐᾰ́ς (mūrĭắs)
- Late Latinmȳria
- Frenchmyriade
- Englishmyriad
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.
More words from French, Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans magdom
- magdomten thousand — see also ten thousand
Ancient Greek μυριάς
- μυριάς (muriás)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Bulgarian мириа́да, мириа́да
- мириа́да (miriáda)vast diversity or number
- мириа́да (miriáda)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
- безчетен (bezčeten)great in number
Catalan miríada, miríada
- miríadavast diversity or number
- miríadaten thousand — see also ten thousand
Chinese Cantonese 萬 /万
- 萬 /万 (maan⁶)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Chinese Mandarin 萬 /万
- 萬 /万 (wàn)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Czech myriáda, nespočet
- myriádavast diversity or number
- nespočetvast diversity or number
- bezpočetvast diversity or number
- nespočetnýgreat in number
- nesčetnýgreat in number
Danish myriade
- myriadevast diversity or number
Dutch een groot aantal, myriade
- een groot aantalvast diversity or number
- myriadevast diversity or number
- myriadeten thousand — see also ten thousand
Esperanto miriado, miriado
- miriadovast diversity or number
- miriadoten thousand — see also ten thousand
Estonian müriaad, loendamatu
- müriaadvast diversity or number
- loendamatugreat in number
Finnish suunnaton määrä, myriadi
- suunnaton määrävast diversity or number
- myriadivast diversity or number
- lukematon määrävast diversity or number
- myriaditen thousand — see also ten thousand
- lukematongreat in number
French myriade, myriade
- myriadevast diversity or number
- myriadeten thousand — see also ten thousand
- nombreuxgreat in number
German Unmenge, Myriaden
- Unmengevast diversity or number
- Myriadenvast diversity or number
- Unzahlvast diversity or number
- Vielzahlvast diversity or number
- Myriadeten thousand — see also ten thousand
- unzähliggreat in number
Greek μυριάδα
- μυριάδα (myriáda)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Hebrew רבבה, ריבוא
- רבבה (r'vavá)vast diversity or number
- ריבוא (ribó)vast diversity or number
- רבבה (revava)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
- ריבוא (ribo)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
- רבבה (r'vavá)great in number
- אינספורgreat in number
Hungarian tömérdek, számtalan
- tömérdekgreat in number
- számtalangreat in number
Icelandic mýgrútur, urmull
- mýgrúturvast diversity or number
- urmullvast diversity or number
- ótalvast diversity or number
- ógrynnivast diversity or number
- aragrúivast diversity or number
Indonesian banyak sekali
- banyak sekalivast diversity or number
Italian miriade, miriade
- miriadevast diversity or number
- miriadeten thousand — see also ten thousand
Japanese 八百万, 万
- 八百万 (yaoyorozu)vast diversity or number
- 万 (man)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Korean 만
- 만 (man)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Latin mȳrias, permulti
- mȳriasten thousand — see also ten thousand
- permultigreat in number
Māori tini, mano tini
- tinivast diversity or number
- mano tinivast diversity or number
- mano tinitini takitinivast diversity or number
- tini ngerongerovast diversity or number
- tini ngerovast diversity or number
- tuauriurivast diversity or number
- tiniten thousand — see also ten thousand
- ngahuru manoten thousand — see also ten thousand
- tinigreat in number
- tinitinigreat in number
Persian بیور
- بیور (bivar)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Polish mnóstwo, masa
- mnóstwovast diversity or number
- masavast diversity or number
- bezlikvast diversity or number
- miriadaten thousand — see also ten thousand
- niezliczonygreat in number
- nieprzeliczonygreat in number
- nieprzebranygreat in number
Portuguese miríade, miríade
- miríadevast diversity or number
- miríadeten thousand — see also ten thousand
Russian мириа́да, тьма
- мириа́да (miriáda)vast diversity or number
- тьма (tʹma)vast diversity or number
- мириа́да (miriáda)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
- мириады (miriady)great in number
Slovak myriada, myriada
- myriadavast diversity or number
- myriadaten thousand — see also ten thousand
Spanish miríada, miríada
- miríadavast diversity or number
- miríadaten thousand — see also ten thousand
Swedish myriad, otal
- myriadvast diversity or number
- otalvast diversity or number
- otalig mängdvast diversity or number
- myriadten thousand — see also ten thousand
- otaliggreat in number
- oräkneliggreat in number
Tagalog hindi mabilang
- hindi mabilangten thousand — see also ten thousand
Thai หมื่น
- หมื่น (mʉ̀ʉn)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Turkish çok büyük sayı, pek çok
- çok büyük sayıvast diversity or number
- pek çokvast diversity or number
- bir sürüvast diversity or number
- sayısızvast diversity or number
- tümenten thousand — see also ten thousand
Ukrainian незліченна кількість, безліч
- незліченна кількість (nezličenna kilʹkistʹ)vast diversity or number
- безліч (bezlič)vast diversity or number
- міріа́ди (miriády)vast diversity or number
- міріада (miriada)ten thousand — see also ten thousand
Vietnamese vạn, muôn
- vạnten thousand — see also ten thousand
- muônten thousand — see also ten thousand
Welsh myrdd, myrddiwn
- myrddvast diversity or number
- myrddiwnvast diversity or number
- deng milten thousand — see also ten thousand
Cite this entry
myriad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/myriad
“myriad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/myriad. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “myriad,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/myriad.
Source: myriad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.