Much — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb noun /ˈməch/

Meaning & Definition of Much

Much (adjective)

  1. great in quantity, amount, extent, or degree
  2. great in importance or significance
  3. many in number

Much (adverb)

  1. to a great degree or extent, considerably
  2. very
  3. frequently, often

Much (noun)

  1. a great quantity, amount, extent, or degree
  2. something considerable or impressive

Much (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having great meaning or lasting effect

    "actually, nothing much changed"

    similar: big, consequential, earth-shattering, earthshaking, eventful, historic, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, monumental, significant, substantial, tectonic, weighty
    related: decisive, fatal, fateful, strategic, earnest, grave, heavy, serious, sincere, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned, all-important, central, critical, crucial, essential, key, pivotal, seminal, vital
    opposite: inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, small, trifling, trivial, unimportant
    near: paltry, petty, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown

Much (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to a great degree

    "much gratified by the favorable response to her novel"

    similar: achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly, extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous (chiefly dialect), mortally, most, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, very, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly, a lot, as all get-out, good and
    related: absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly, deeply, profoundly, exceptionally, notably, remarkably, considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially, appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly, abundantly, plentifully, astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally, excessively, obscenely, overmuch, amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly
    opposite: little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat
    near: meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

  2. to a large extent or degree

    "the new decorations made me much happier"

    similar: astronomically, big-time, broadly, colossally, considerably, enormously, extensively, greatly, highly, hugely, largely, massively, monstrously, monumentally, sizably, staggeringly, stupendously, tremendously, utterly, vastly, a lot, by half, no end
    related: appreciably, noticeably, significantly, abundantly, amply, copiously, healthily, plentifully
    opposite: little, negligibly, nominally, slightly
    near: modestly, fractionally, imperceptibly, infinitesimally, insignificantly, invisibly, microscopically, minutely, barely, hardly, just, minimally, scarcely

  3. very close to but not completely

    "today the old neighborhood looks much as it did years ago"

    similar: about, all but, almost, borderline, fair (chiefly British), fairly, feckly (chiefly Scottish), more or less, most, near, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nigh, as good as, just about, pretty much, within an inch of
    related: appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly, kind of, partially, partly, somewhat
    near: absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, plumb (chiefly dialect), quite, thoroughly, totally, utterly, well, wholly, barely, hardly, scarcely

  4. many times

    "I don't do that much anymore"

    similar: again and again, constantly, continually, frequently, hourly, oft, often, oftentimes, over and over, repeatedly, a lot, time after time, time and again
    related: always, consistently, continuingly, continuously, night and day, perpetually, unceasingly, uninterruptedly, afresh, again, anew, commonly, habitually, ordinarily, regularly, routinely, intermittently, periodically, recurrently, generally, usually
    opposite: infrequently, little, rarely, seldom
    near: now, now and then, occasionally, sometimes, sporadically, ne'er, never, once

  5. close to but not exactly

    "he behaves much the same as I did at that age"

    similar: about, approximately, around, like, more or less, near, plus or minus, roughly, say, some, after a fashion, somewhere about, somewhere around
    related: generally, kind of, loosely, nearly, nominally, practically, virtually, well-nigh
    opposite: exactly, precisely
    near: due, even, just, sharp, smack-dab, squarely

Much (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a considerable amount

    "much of what people think they know about words is inaccurate or downright false"

    similar: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (chiefly British), loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, sheaf, shipload, sight, slew, spate, stack, store, ton, truckload, volume, wad, wealth, yard, all kinds (of), quite a bit
    related: epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng, gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion
    opposite: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace
    near: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section, absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want, deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

Related Entry: Much as (conjunction)

Much as is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for much as, not for much.

  1. in spite of the fact that

    "much as I'd like to blame you, I know I can't"

    similar: albeit, although, as, howbeit, notwithstanding, though, when, whereas, while, whilst (chiefly British)
    related: but, if

Related Entry: Much less (conjunction)

Much less is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for much less, not for much.

  1. to say nothing of

    "after spraining his ankle, the gymnast hadn't been expected to appear in today's event, much less win it"

    similar: let alone, never mind, still less, not to mention

Related Entry: Much of a muchness (phrase)

Much of a muchness is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for much of a muchness, not for much.

  1. resembling another in every respect

    "All the movies playing these days are much of a muchness to me."

    similar: coequal, duplicate, equal, even, same, identical, indistinguishable
    related: akin, alike, analogous, comparable, coordinate, correspondent, corresponding, equivalent, like, look-alike, matching, parallel, similar, such, suchlike, synonymous, tantamount
    opposite: different, disparate, dissimilar, distant, distinct, distinctive, distinguishable, diverse, nonidentical, other, unalike, unlike
    near: differentiable, discriminable, divers, miscellaneous, sundry, varied, various

Related Entry: A bit much (phrase)

A bit much is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for a bit much, not for much.

  1. going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount

    "I thought the flashy decorations were a bit much for such a formal event."

    similar: baroque, devilish, excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, fancy, immoderate, inordinate, insane, intolerable, lavish, overdue, overextravagant, overmuch, over-the-top, overweening, plethoric, steep, stiff, towering, unconscionable, undue, unmerciful
    related: boundless, endless, immeasurable, infinite, limitless, unbearable, unjustifiable, unwarranted, improper, inappropriate, thick, unseemly, unrestrained
    opposite: middling, moderate, modest, reasonable, temperate
    near: deficient, inadequate, insufficient, minimal, minimum

Related Entry: Make much of (phrase)

Make much of is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for make much of, not for much.

  1. to indicate the importance of by centering attention on

    "He made much of the one study that supported his argument."

    similar: accent, accentuate, emphasize, feature, foreground, highlight, illuminate, play up, point (up), press, punctuate, stress, bear down on
    related: focus, identify, pinpoint, spotlight, advertise, boost, plug, promote, publicize, overplay
    opposite: de-emphasize, play down
    near: tone (down), underemphasize, understate, belittle, discount, disparage, minimize

Related Entry: Pretty much (phrase)

Pretty much is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for pretty much, not for much.

  1. very close to but not completely

    similar: about, all but, almost, borderline, fair (chiefly British), fairly, feckly (chiefly Scottish), more or less, most, much, near, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nigh, as good as, just about, within an inch of
    related: appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly, kind of, partially, partly, somewhat
    near: absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, plumb (chiefly dialect), quite, thoroughly, totally, utterly, well, wholly, barely, hardly, scarcely

Related Entry: Too much (phrase)

Too much is a different word from Much. The synonyms below are for too much, not for much.

  1. of the very best kind

    ""Your jokes are just too much," he said, laughing."

    similar: A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (chiefly British), boss (slang), brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool (slang), corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope (slang), down (slang), dynamite, excellent, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous (slang), fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters, gilt-edged, gone (slang), grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype (slang), immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous, mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one, numero uno, out-of-sight (slang), par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat (slang), prime, primo (slang), prize, prizewinning, quality, radical (slang), righteous (slang), sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, topflight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping (chiefly British), top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard (chiefly British), wonderful, out of this world
    related: acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK, passable, satisfactory, tolerable, better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine, classical, standard, traditional
    opposite: atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched
    near: bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory, mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Much

The most common words with a similar meaning to Much:

Chiefly British: fair, lashings
Chiefly dialect: monstrous
Chiefly Scottish: feckly
big, consequential, earth-shattering, earthshaking, eventful, historic, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, monumental, significant, substantial, tectonic, weighty, achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly, extra, extremely

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Much

Words with the opposite meaning of Much:

inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, small, trifling, trivial, unimportant, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat, infrequently, rarely, seldom, exactly, precisely, ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, mite

Related Words for Much

decisive, fatal, fateful, strategic, earnest, grave, heavy, serious, sincere, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned

Near Antonyms of Much

paltry, petty, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown, meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely, modestly, fractionally, imperceptibly, infinitesimally, insignificantly, invisibly, microscopically, minutely, absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain

Word Forms of Much

Inflections: more, most

Origin & Etymology of Much

Middle English muche large, much, from michel, muchel, from Old English micel, mycel; akin to Old High German mihhil great, large, Latin magnus, Greek megas, Sanskrit mahat

First known use: 13th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Much

Words & Phrases Containing Much

much as, much less, much of a muchness, much to someone's regret, much to someone's surprise, much to the regret of (someone), a bit much

Frequently Asked Questions about Much

What does "Much" mean?

"Much" means great in quantity, amount, extent, or degree. As an an adjective, an adverb and a noun, it is defined as: great in quantity, amount, extent, or degree. It has 7 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Much"?

Other words for "Much" include big, consequential, earth-shattering, earthshaking, eventful, historic, important and major. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Much" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Much"?

There are 364 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Much". Common alternatives include big, consequential, earth-shattering, earthshaking, eventful, historic, important, major, material and meaningful.

What is the opposite of "Much"?

Antonyms of "Much" include inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight and small. Near antonyms include paltry, petty, worthless and anonymous.

How do you use "Much" in a sentence?

Examples of "Much" in a sentence: "actually, nothing much changed"; "much gratified by the favorable response to her novel"; "the new decorations made me much happier".

Is "Much" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Much" can be used as an adjective, an adverb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Much" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Much" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Much"?

"Much" is pronounced /ˈməch/.