Phrase guide

contain multitudes

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /kənˌteɪn ˈmʌltɪtjuːdz/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-t͡ʃ-/
  • General-American: /kənˌteɪn ˈmʌltəˌt(j)udz/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To have a complex and apparently paradoxical nature; to be inconsistent, especially in a way that is ultimately admirable or noble.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892) in his poem “Song of Myself” published in Leaves of Grass (1855): see the quotation.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: olla moninainen — to have a complex and apparently paradoxical nature