# Actual Freedom – Definitions

# Definitions ## Miasmal; Microcosm/Macrocosm; Mindful ## Minorly; Miracle; Misandry; Misogyny; Misanthropy ## Misapprehension; Miserabilism; Mitigate; Modus Operandi ## Modus Vivendi; Mood; Morbid; Mores; Morphogenesis; Multiplicious ## Multitudinous; Multivarious; Multivalent; Myopic; Myopia Miasmal: • miasmal (adj.): filled with vapour; (synonyms): miasmic, vapourous; vapourific; [e.g.]: “venturing into miasmic jungles”; “carefully negotiating the vapourous bog”; “mile-after-mile of vapourific swampland”; cloudy (full of or covered with clouds); [e.g.]: “those cloudy skies bespoke a wet weekend”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0; Edited Version). • miasma (n.; pl. miasmas or miasmata): 1. a noxious atmosphere or influence; [e.g.]: “The family affection, the family expectations, seemed to permeate the atmosphere ... like a coiling miasma”. (Louis Auchincloss); 2. (a.) a foul-smelling vapour arising from rotting organic matter, formerly thought to cause disease; (b.) a thick vapourous atmosphere or emanation; [e.g.]: “wreathed in a miasma of exhaust fumes”; (adj.): miasmal, miasmatic, miasmic. [Greek míasma, ‘pollution’, ‘stain’, from miaínein, ‘to pollute’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • miasma (n.; pl. miasmata or miasmas): 1. an unwholesome or oppressive atmosphere; 2. pollution in the atmosphere, esp. noxious vapours from decomposing organic matter; (adj.): miasmal, miasmic, miasmatic, miasmatical. [C17: New Latin, from Greek míasma, ‘defilement’, from miaínein, ‘to defile’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • miasma (n.; pl. miasmas, miasmata): 1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere; 2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere; (adj.): miasmal, miasmic, miasmatic, miasmatical. [1655-65; from New Latin, from Greek míasma, ‘stain’, pollution’, derivative of miaínein, ‘to pollute’, ‘stain’]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • miasma (n.): an unwholesome atmosphere; [e.g.]: “the novel spun a miasma of death and decay”; 2. unhealthy vapours rising from the ground or other sources [e.g.]: “the miasma of the marshes”; “there was a miasma of exhaust fumes”; miasm; air pollution (pollution of the atmosphere) [e.g.]: “air pollution reduced the visibility”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • miasma (n.): unwholesomeness, smell, pollution, odour, stench, reek, effluvium, mephitis, fetor; (Brit. slang): niff; [e.g.]: “a thick black poisonous miasma which hung over the area”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). Microcosm, Macrocosm: • microcosm (n.): a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristics of something much larger; (‘the city is \ a microcosm of modern Malaysia’); humankind regarded as the representation in miniature of the universe; (‘the belief in correspondences between the\ Universe and Man – between microcosm and macrocosm’). (Oxford Dictionary). • macrocosm (n.): 1. a complex structure, such as the universe or society, regarded as an entirety, as opposed to microcosms, which have a similar \ structure and are contained within it; 2. any complex entity regarded as a complete system in itself. • microcosm (n.): 1. a miniature representation of something, esp a unit, group, or place regarded as a copy of a larger one; 2. (philosophy): man \ regarded as epitomizing the universe. (Collins Dictionary). • microcosm (n.): a small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development; (‘He sees the auto \ industry as a microcosm of the U.S. itself’ ~William J. Hampton); (adj.): microcosmic, microcosmical; (adv.): microcosmically. • macrocosm (n.): 1. the entire world; the universe; 2. a system reflecting on a large scale one of its component systems or parts; (adj.): macrocosmic, \ macrocosmical; (adv.): macrocosmically. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). Mindful: • mindful (adj.): attentive; heedful. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • mindful (adj.): keeping aware; heedful. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • mindful (adj.): attentive; aware. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • mindful (adj.): bearing in mind; attentive to; aware. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • mindful (adj.): 1. tending toward awareness and appreciation; (synonyms): aware, conscious, observant; 2. cautiously attentive; (synonyms): heedful, watchful, careful, observant. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). RICHARD: The word ‘mindfulness’ is an English word that means ‘taking heed or care; being conscious or aware; paying attention to, being heedful of, being watchful of, being regardful of, being cognizant of, being aware of, being conscious of, taking into account, being alert to, being alive to, being sensible of, being careful of, being wary of, being chary of’ and may be used, more or less, the same as ‘watchfulness’, ‘heedfulness’, ‘regardfulness’, ‘attentiveness’, and to a lesser extent ‘carefulness’, ‘sensibleness’, ‘wariness’. However, the word ‘mindfulness’ has taken-on the Buddhist meaning of the word for most seekers (the same as the word ‘meditation’ which used to mean ‘think over; ponder’), and no longer has the every-day meaning as per the dictionary. The Buddhist connotations come from the Pali ‘Bhavana’ (the English translation of the Pali ‘Vipassana Bhavana’ is ‘Insight Meditation’). ‘Bhavana’ comes from the root ‘Bhu’, which means ‘to grow’ or ‘to become’. There fore, ‘Bhavana’ means ‘to cultivate’, and, as the word is always used in reference to the mind, ‘Bhavana’ means ‘mental cultivation’. ‘Vipassana’ is derived from two roots: ‘Passana’, which means ‘seeing’ or ‘perceiving’ and ‘Vi’ (which is a prefix with the complex set of connotations) basically means ‘in a special way’ but there also is the connotation of both ‘into’ and ‘through’. The whole meaning of the word ‘Vipassana’, then, is looking into something with meticulousness discernment, seeing each component as distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing. This process leads to intuition into the basic reality of whatever is being inspected. Put it all together and ‘Vipassana Bhavana’ means the cultivation of the mind, aimed at seeing in a special way that leads to intuitive discernment and to full understanding of Mr. Gotama the Sakyan’s basic precepts. In ‘Vipassana Bhavana’, Buddhists cultivate this special way of seeing life. They train themselves to see reality exactly as it is described by Mr. Gotama the Sakyan, and in the English-speaking world they call this special mode of perception: ‘mindfulness’. Which is why I have never advocated ‘using mindfulness as a methodical approach to awakening’ because ‘mindfulness’ is clearly a Buddhist term and involves a total withdrawal from the sensate world so as to realise the ‘timeless’ (which is another term I never use), apart from which, to awake from a dream is but to be lucidly dreaming ... the ‘dreamer’ must become extinct. And how to bring about extinction? By asking oneself, each moment again, how one is experiencing this moment of being alive. Given that this is one’s only moment of being alive, if one is not experiencing the peace-on-earth that is already always here now, then one is wasting this moment of being alive by settling for second-best ... it means that the long evolutionary process that produced this flesh and blood human being has come to naught. But, here is another moment, another opportunity, to actually be here now – where one’s destiny is – and how is one experiencing this moment? More often than not one is experiencing this moment through a feeling – standing back and feeling it out like putting a toe into the water – instead of jumping-in boots and all. Thus one can find out what brought about this feeling that is preventing me from being here now and through this ‘hands-on’ examination have it vanish ... and the reward is immediate and direct. This actualist method is a far cry from the Buddhist carefully cultivated ‘mindfulness’ ... which is a further withdrawal from this actual world. (Richard, List B, No. 12e, 12 July 1999). Minorly : mi​nor​ly (adv.): in a minor way; marginally, slightly; [e.g.]: “He was minorly injured in the fall”; “She became minorly famous back home for confessional diary items penned for the daily newspaper about the life of a young, single woman in the city”. (Vet Wagner, “Toronto Star’, 03 Mar 2009); ”The American Embassy was not so much heavily guarded as minorly fortified“. (Tom Clancy, ”Patriot Games“, 1987). [first known use: 1840, in the meaning defined above; from minor + -ly]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Miracle: miracle: a marvellous event not ascribable to human or natural agency (inexplicable by the laws of nature) and therefore attributed to the intervention of a supernatural agent, esp. (in Christian belief) God; specifically an act demonstrating control over nature, serving as evidence that the agent is either divine or divinely favoured; a person or thing of more than natural excellence; a surpassing specimen or example of; a remarkable or marvellous phenomenon or event (frequently hyperbole). (Oxford Dictionary). See also Thaumaturgy Misandry; Misogyny; Misanthropy: • misandry: hatred of men. • misogyny: hatred of women. • misanthropy: hatred of humankind. (Oxford Dictionary). Misapprehension: misapprehension: a mistaken assumption. (Oxford Dictionary). Miserabilism: miserabilism: pessimism, gloomy negativity. (Oxford Dictionary). Mitigate: mitigate (tr.v.; mitigated, mitigating, mitigates): 1. to make less severe or intense; moderate or alleviate; (synonyms): relieve, allay, alleviate, assuage, lighten², palliate, mitigate; these verbs mean to make something less severe or more bearable; to relieve is to make more endurable something causing discomfort or distress; [e.g.]: “That misery which he strives to relieve in vain”. (Henry David Thoreau); allay suggests at least temporary relief from what is burdensome or painful; [e.g.]: “This music crept by me upon the waters, allaying both their fury and my passion with its sweet air”. (Shakespeare); alleviate connotes temporary lessening of distress without removal of its cause; [e.g.]: “No arguments shall be wanting on my part which can alleviate so severe a misfortune”. (Jane Austen); to assuage is to soothe or make milder; [e.g.]: “He assuaged his guilt by confessing to the crime”; lighten signifies to make less heavy or oppressive; [e.g.]: “Legislation which would lighten the taxpayer’s burden”; palliate and mitigate connote moderating the force or intensity of something which causes suffering; [e.g.]: “Organisations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing”. (Ernest Hemingway); “For my part, I could not bear the sight, but hid myself in my closet, and prayed to the Lord to mitigate a calamity”. (John Galt); 2. to make alterations to (land) in order to make it less polluted or more hospitable to wildlife; (phrasal verb): mitigate against: (usage problem): to mitigate, meaning “to make less severe, alleviate” is sometimes used where militate, which means “to cause a change”, might be expected; the confusion arises when the subject of mitigate is an impersonal factor or influence, and the verb is followed by the preposition ‘against’, so the meaning of the phrase is something like “to be a powerful factor against” or “to hinder or prevent”, as in; [e.g.]: “His relative youth might mitigate against him in a national election”; some seventy percent of this dictionary’s usage panel rejected this use of mitigate against in our 2009 survey; some fifty-six percent also rejected the intransitive use of mitigate meaning “to take action to alleviate something undesirable”, as in; [e.g.]: “What steps can the town take to mitigate against damage from coastal storms?”; perhaps its use in conjunction with ‘against’ in the one instance has soured panelists on its use in the other; this intransitive use is relatively recent in comparison with the long-established transitive use, so novelty might play a role as well; 1. to take measures to moderate or alleviate (something); 2. to be a strong factor against (someone or something); hinder or prevent; (n.): mitigation, mitigator; (adj.): mitigable; mitigative, mitigatory. [Middle English mitigaten, from Latin mītigāre, mītigāt-, from mītis, ‘soft’ + agere, ‘to drive’, ‘do’; see act; viz.: from Old French acte, from Latin āctus, ‘a doing’, and āctum, ‘a thing done’, both from past participle of agere, ‘to drive’, ‘do’]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). Modus Operandi: modus operandi (= mode of operating): the way in which a person sets about a task. (Oxford Dictionary). Modus Vivendi: Modus Vivendi (n.; pl. modi vivendi): 1. a feasible arrangement or practical compromise; esp. one that bypasses difficulties; 2. *a manner of living: a way of life*. [origin and etymology: New Latin, ‘manner of living’; first known use: circa 1878]. [emphasis added]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Mood: • mood (n.): 1. a person’s emotional state or outlook at a particular time; 2. a distinctive emotional quality or character; [e.g.]: ‘a festive mood’; 3. a prevailing emotional tone or general attitude; [e.g.]: ‘the country’s mood’; 4. a frame of mind receptive, as to some activity; [e.g.]: ‘in the mood to see a movie’; 5. a state of sullenness, gloom, or bad temper. [before 900; Middle English; Old English mōd, ‘mind’, ‘spirit’, ‘courage’; cf. Old Frisian, Old Saxon mōd, Old High German muot, ‘courage’, ‘spirit’ (German Mut), Old Norse mōthr, ‘anger’, Gothic mōths,’anger’, ‘spirit’]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). Mood and Temperament: • [Richard]: The affective tone of mood and temperament relates to the qualitative nature of same (as distinct from hedonic-tone which is either pleasurable, displeasureable or neither). Morbid: • morbid (adj.): 1. not sound and healthful; induced by, or characteristic of, a diseased or abnormal condition; diseased; sickly; hence, abnormally or unnaturally susceptible to emotional impressions, esp. of a gloomy or unwholesome nature; [e.g.]: “Her sick and morbid heart” (Hawthorne); 2. relating to disease; as, ‘morbid anatomy’; (synonyms): sickly, sick, unwholesome. [Latin morbidus, from morbus, ‘disease’; prob. akin to mori, ‘to die’; cf. French morbide; see mortal]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary; 1927). [https://archive.org/stream/webstersnewinter00webs#page/1404/mode/2up]. • morbid (adj.): 1. (a) of, relating to, or characteristic of disease; [e.g.]: “morbid anatomy”; (b) affected with or induced by disease; [e.g.]: “a morbid condition”; (c) productive of disease; [e.g.]: “morbid substances”; 2. abnormally susceptible to or characterised by gloomy or unwholesome feelings; 3. grisly, gruesome; [e.g.]: “morbid details”; “morbid curiosity”; (adv.): morbidly; (n.): morbidness. [origin and etymology: first known use: 1656; from Latin morbidus, ‘diseased’, from morbus, ‘disease’]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary; 2017). [www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morbid]. Mores: • mores (n.): mores is the Latin plural of mōr, mōs, and means “acquired customs and manners”; social and moral conventions are mores, and the lack of these is anomie⁽*⁾.~ (Farlex Trivia Dictionary). ⁽*⁾anomie, anomy, anomia (n.): a state or condition of individuals or society characterised by an absence or breakdown of social and legal norms and values, as in the case of an uprooted people; (adj.): anomic. ~ (Ologies & Isms Dictionary). • mores (pl. n.; pron. moor-raze): a concept developed by William Graham Sumner (1840-1910) to designate those folkways {i.e., habitual group customs, behaviours and fashions} which, if violated, result in extreme punishment; the term comes from the Latin mōs (‘customs’), and although mores are fewer in number than folkways, they are more coercive; negative mores are taboos, usually supported by religious or philosophical sanctions; whereas folkways guide human conduct in the more mundane areas of life, mores tend to control those aspects connected with sex, the family, or religion. [curly-bracketed insert added] ~ (Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia). Morphogenesis: • morphogenesis: The term morphogenesis comes from the Greek words morphê meaning shape and genesis meaning creation. It refers to the biological process that causes an organism, tissue, or cell to develop its shape. Morphogenesis is a fundamental aspect of developmental biology, along with the control of tissue growth and cellular differentiation. ~ (Wikipedia). • morphogenesis: Formation of the structure of an organism or part; differentiation and growth of tissues and organs during development. ~ American Heritage® Dictionary). • In biology, morphogenesis is often studied in the context of embryonic development, but it can also occur in mature organisms. For example, stem cells can maintain tissue in a mature organism, or tissues can regenerate after damage.~ (www.sciencedirect.com). • morphogenesis: 1. the development of form and structure in an organism during its growth from embryo to adult. 2. the evolutionary development of form in an organism or part of an organism ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • Synonyms of morphogenetic include development, growing, growth, maturation, ontogenesis, and ontogeny. ~ (Vocabulary.com). • Morphogenetic: relating to the development of a normal form or structure, especially as controlled by the growth, differentiation, and movement of cells and tissues. • morphogenetic movements of early embryonic cells. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Multiplicious: • multiplicious (adj.): manifold (viz.: 1. various in kind or quality; many in number; numerous; multiplied; complicated; 2. exhibited at divers times or in various ways). ~ (Webster’s 1913 Dictionary). • multiplicious (adj.): manifold (viz.: many; [e.g.]: “The manifold details abound”; myriad, divers, multifarious); multiplex. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). • multiplicious (adj.): manifold. [origin: the earliest known use of the adjective multiplicitous is in the 1850s; OED’s earliest evidence for multiplicitous is from 1852, in New Orleans Weekly Delta; formed within English, by derivation; etymons: multiplicity, noun + ‑ous, suffix]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). • multiplicious (adj.): manifold; exhibiting multiplicity; [e.g.]: “‘Some of them are polemical’, our reviewer, Joel Brouwer, said, but, ‘Reed’s best poems conjure up a vertiginous, multiplicious, irresolvable and thrilling world’”. (from “Paperback Row”, Elsa Dixler; October 21, 2007, in New York Times); (synonyms): manifold, multiplicitous; many-kinded. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • multiplicious (adj.; rare): manifold; multiplex; [e.g.]: “The animal [amphisbæna] is not one, but multiplicious, or many, which hath a duplicity or gemination of principal parts”. (Sir Thomas Browne, “Vulgar Errors”, iii. 15); “This sense smelling... although sufficiently grand and admirable, (yet) is not so multiplicious as of the eye or ear”. (Rev. William Derham,1657-1735, “Physico-Theology”, iv. 4). [from Latin multiplex (multiplici-); multiplex + -ous]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multipliciously (adv.): in a manifold or multiplex manner. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multiplicity (n.): 1. the state of being multiplex or manifold or various; the condition of being numerous; [e.g.]: “Moreover, as the manifold variation of the parts, so the multiplicity of the use of each part, is very wonderful”. (Nehemiah Grew, 1641-1712, “Cosmologia Sacra”, 1701, i. 5); 2. many of the same kind; a large number; [e.g.]: “Had they discoursed rightly but upon this one principle that God was a being infinitely perfect, they could never have asserted a multiplicity of gods”. (Robert South: “Sermons Preached Upon Several Occasions”, vol. II.); “A multiplicity of laws give a judge as much power as a want of law, since he is ever sure to find among the number some to countenance his partiality”. (Oliver Goldsmith, “Reverie at Boar’s-Head Tavern in Eastcheap”, 1841, Essay IV.). [= French multiplicité = Spanish multiplicidad = Portuguese multiplicidade = Italian moltiplicità, from Late Latin multiplicita(t-)s, ‘manifoldness’, from Latin multiplex, ‘manifold’; see multiplex]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multiplicitous (adj.): synonym of multiplicious; [e.g.]: “Finally, this fair is multiplicitous in ways that few others are anymore”. (from “Treasure Hunt for Grown-Ups With Money”, Holland Cotter; January 19, 2007 in New York Times‎). ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • multifarious (adj.): having or occurring in great variety; diverse; [e.g.]: “Participated in multifarious activities in high school”; (synonyms): multifariousness. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Multitudinous: • multitudinous (adj.): 1. very numerous; existing in great numbers; 2. consisting of many parts; 3. populous; crowded; (adv.): multitudinously; (n.): multitudinousness. [from Latin multitūdō, multitūdin-, ‘multitude’, from multus, ‘many’ + -tude, suffix denoting condition, state, or quality; e.g., exactitude]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • multitudinous or multitudinary (adj.): 1. very numerous; 2. (rare): great in extent, variety, etc.; 3. poetic crowded; (adv.): multitudinously; (n.): multitudinousness. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • multitudinous (adj.): 1. existing in great numbers; numerous; 2. comprising many parts or elements; 3. (archaic): crowded; (adv.): multitudinously; (n.): multitudinousness. [1595-1605; from Latin multitūdin-, ‘multitude’ + -ous]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • multitudinous (adj.): too numerous to be counted; [e.g.]: “the multitudinous seas”; (synonyms): innumerable, myriad, countless, infinite, untold, numberless, innumerous, unnumberable, unnumbered, unnumerable, uncounted; [e.g.]: “there were innumerable difficulties”; “a myriad stars shone brightly”; “then countless hours passed by”; “an infinite number of reasons”; “in their untold thousands”; incalculable (not capable of being computed or enumerated); [e.g.]: “those incalculable riches”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • multitudinous (adj.): numerous, many, considerable, countless, legion, infinite, abounding, abundant, myriad, teeming, innumerable, copious, manifold, profuse; [e.g.]: “He was a man of multitudinous talents”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • multitudinous (adj.): amounting to or consisting of a large, indefinite number; (synonyms): legion, many, myriad, numerous; (idiom): quite a few. ~ (The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • multitudinous (adj.): 1. consisting of a multitude or great number; [e.g.]: “Then multitudinous echoes awoke and died in the distance”. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie”, 1847, ii. 2); 2. of vast extent or number, or of manifold diversity; vast in number or variety, or in both; [e.g.]: “My hand will rather | The multitudinous seas incarnadine, | Making the green one red”. (William Shakespeare, “Macbeth”, ii. 2. 62); “One might with equal wisdom seek to whistle the vague multitudinous hum of a forest”. (Edmund Gurney, “Nineteenth Century Magazine”, LXXI. 446); 3†. of or pertaining to the multitude; [e.g.]: “At once pluck out | The multitudinous tongue; let them not lick | The sweet which is their poison”. (William Shakespeare, “Coriolanus”, iii. 1. 156); 4. (rare): thronged; crowded; [e.g.]: “The transport of a fierce and monstrous gladness | Spread through the multitudinous streets, fast flying | Upon the wings of fear”. (Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792-1822, “The Revolt of Islam” (ex-‘Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City’), 1818, canto xii, page 252). [from Latin as if *multitudinosus, from multitudo (-din-), ‘a multitude’; see multitude]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multitudinously (adv.): in a multitudinous manner; in great number or with great variety. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multitudinary (adj.; rare): multitudinous; manifold. [from Latin as if *multitudinarius, from multitudo (-din-), ‘a multitude’; see multitude]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multitudinousness (n.): the character or state of being multitudinous; [e.g.]: “Nature’s multitudinousness is commanded by a senate of powers”. (James Martineau, “Modern Materialism: Its Attitude Towards Theology”, 1876, p. 38). ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • multitude (n.): 1. the character of being many; numerousness; also, a great number regarded collectively or as congregated together. Aquinas and others distinguish ‘transcendental multitude’ and ‘material multitude’; but it is difficult to attach any definite conception to ‘transcendental multitude’, which is the opposite of ‘transcendental unity’. And ‘material multitude’ is the multitude of individuals of the same species, an expression which supposes matter to be the principle of individuation; [e.g.]: “And whiles they sought to flye out of the Citie, they wedged themselues with multitude so fast in the gate (which was furthest from the enemie) and the streetes adjoyning, as that three rankes walked one vpon the others heads”. (Samuel Purchas, 1577-1626, “Purchas His Pilgrimage, or, Relations of the World and the Religions”, four editions between 1613 and 1626, p. 420); “Armed freemen scattered over a wide area are deterred from attending the periodic assemblies by cost of travel, by cost of time, by danger, and also by the experience that multitudes of men unprepared and unorganised are helpless in presence of an organised few”. (Herbert Spencer, “The Principles of Sociology”, § 495. page 413); 2. a great number, indefinitely; [e.g.]: “It is a fault in a multitude of preachers that they utterly neglect method in their harangues”. (Dr. Isaac Watts); 3. a crowd or throng; a gathering or collection of people. According to some ancient legal authorities, it required at least ten to make a multitude; ‘the multitude’: the populace, or the mass of men without reference to an assemblage; [e.g.]: “The hasty multitude | Admiring enter’d; and the work some praise, | And some the architect”. (John Milton, “Paradise Lost”, i. 730); “That great enemy of reason, virtue, and religion, the multitude”. (Sir Thomas Browne, “Religio Medici” (“The Religion of a Doctor”) , ii. 1); (synonyms): multitude, throng, crowd, swarm, mass, host, legion; a multitude, however great, may be in a space so large as to give each one ample room; a throng or a crowd is generally smaller than a multitude, but is gathered into a close body, a throng being a company that presses together or forward, and a crowd carrying the closeness to uncomfortable physical contact; [e.g.]: “A very subtle argument could not have been communicated to the multitudes that visited the shows”. (Thomas De Quincey, “Secret Societies”, i); “We are enow, yet living in the field, | To smother up the English in our throngs, | If any order might be thought upon”. (William Shakespeare, “Henry V.”, iv. 5. 20); “It crosses here, it crosses there, | Thro’ all that crowd confused and loud”. (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “Maud, and Other Poems”, 1855, xxvi); ‘multitude of a set’: same as, ‘potency of a set’. [from French multitude = Spanish multitud = Portuguese multitude, multidão = Italian multitudine, moltitudine, from Latin multitudo (-din-), ‘a great number’, ‘a multitude’, ‘a crowd’, in grammar, ‘the plural number’, from multus, Old Latin moltus, ‘much’, ‘many’, apparently originally a past participle; cf. altus, ‘high’, ‘deep’, originally past participle of alere, ‘nourish’, ‘grow’; see altitude, old]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). Multivarious: • multivarious (adj.): having a varied or diverse quality; having several various forms; [e.g.]: “The paper documented multivarious treatments of current events”. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • multivarious (adj.): many and various; see also multifarious, multivariety. [etymology: borrowed from Latin multivarius]. ~ (Word-Sense Online Dictionary). • multivarious (adj.): widely diverse; (synonyms): multivariable, multivariant, multivariate; [e.g.]: “The forces behind these trends are multivarious and complex”. (New York Times, 27 Apr. 2021); “However, supply chain management—and specifically ocean freight shipments—are inherently complex and multivarious issues that are beyond one’s ability to predict”. (Ami Daniel, Forbes, 9 June 2022); “Only a few studies have used high-dimensional, multivariate measures of behaviour”. (Dean Mobbs, Scientific American, 20 Sep. 2019). [etymology: multi- + various]. ~ (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary). • multivarious (adj.): having various forms or of diverse quality. [the earliest known use of the adjective multivarious is in the mid 1600s. OED’s earliest evidence for multivarious is from 1636, in the writing of Daniel Featley, Church of England clergyman and religious controversialist; multivarious is formed within English, by compounding; etymons: multi-, combing form, with various adjectives; (nearby entries): multivalued (adj.; 1900); multivalvate (adj.; 1891); multivalve (adj. & n.; 1753); multivalved (adj.; 1759); multivalver (n.; 1925); multivalvular (adj.; 1760); multivariable (adj.; 1911); multivariant (adj.; 1902); multivariate (adj.; 1920); multivariety (n.; 1601); multivarious (adj.; 1636); multivendor (adj.; 1970); multiversant (adj.; 1828); multiverse (n.; 1895); multiversity (n.; 1926); multivesicular (adj.; 1957); multivibrator (n.; 1919); multivious (adj.; 1656); multivitamin (adj. & n.; 1939); multivocal (adj. & n.; 1834); multivocality (n.; 1963)]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). __________ Random Journal Examples. • “Of all the chemical compounds scientists have ever contemplated, deoxyribonucleic acid (ᴅɴᴀ) stands out both for engendering hope and inspiring hype. Sure, there are other compounds with claims to serious societal impact. There’s water (ʜ₂ᴏ), of course, and trinitrotoluene (ᴛɴᴛ), nicotine {e.g., nicotinic acid, or niacin, a vitamin of the ʙ complex essential for the normal function of the nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract}, dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), and various petroleum hydrocarbons, not to mention ethanol. Life wouldn’t be the same without them. But life wouldn’t be life at all without ᴅɴᴀ (deoxyribonucleic acid). Yes, you need water too, but water without ᴅɴᴀ is lifeless. ᴅɴᴀ is life’s master compound, the record of evolution, the stuff of genes which code for life’s multivarious designs. ᴅɴᴀ is the superstar of cellular vitality, the storehouse of genetic information from which all of life’s power emerges”. [curly-bracketed inserts added]. ~ (Editorial, by Tom Siegfried, Editor in Chief; Jul 4, 2009, Science News ᴜsᴀ). • “Since 1947, the society and state of Pakistan have been caught in a whirlpool of divergent social and political factors. The country is fraught with multivarious problems of a crucial and intricate nature, but ethnicity has emerged as the most significant and delicate issue”. ~ (page 54, “Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict in Pakistan”, by Gulshan Majeed; 2010, Journal of Political Studies, Vol. 1. No. 2). • “Building on her theory of the paper stage, Rachel Willie’s second chapter analyses play pamphlets which render posthumous dramatic representations of Charles and Cromwell as sites for thinking politics. By applying this theory of the paper stage to these often-overlooked texts, Willie shows how these works range from blunt, partisan screeds to vexed, multivarious treatments of current events”. ~ (Book Review of Rachel Willie’s “Staging the Revolution: Drama, Reinvention and History”, by Marissa Nicosia; Jan 1, 2017, Philological Quarterly). • “Michel Houellebecq’s novels are filled with multivarious kinds of established culture-shaping discourses which sometimes are linked to entities customarily immersed in the realm of culture. The novels orchestrate the ascent to dominance of other culture-shaping discourses, connected in many instances with non-state and growingly large-scale agencies”. ~ (from “Cultural Decline, Capitalist Deterritorialisation, and Social Degeneration in Michel Houellebecq’s Fiction”, by Carmen Petcu; Jan 1, 2018, Review of Contemporary Philosophy). • “Just as with the psychedelic road movie ‘Separado!’, and the elusive Patagonian guitarist Rene Griffiths, it appears there’s no end to the weird and wonderful characters lurking in the multivarious branches of the prodigiously resourceful frontiersman Gruff Rhys’ colourful family tree”. ~ (from “American Quadrilogy”, Daily Post, Conwy, Wales; May 10, 2014; quadrilogy=tetralogy; (n.): a series of four related dramatic, operatic, or literary works; (adj.): tetralogical; (n.): tetralogist). • “Nonetheless, both recent studies did include multivarious adjustments intended to limit confounders”. ~ (Amby Burfoot, Outside Online, 22 Sep. 2021). Multivalent: multivalent (adj.): having or susceptible of many applications, interpretations, meanings, or values; [e.g.]: “visually complex and multivalent work”; (n.): multivalence. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). Myopic: myopic: of, pertaining to, or affected with myopia; short-sighted, near-sighted; [example] a board full of myopic people: narrow, narrow-minded, short-sighted, insular, parochial, provincial, limited, prejudiced (...). (Oxford Dictionary). •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Myopia: myopia (fig.): near-sightedness. (Oxford Dictionary). RETURN TO DEFINITIONS INDEX RICHARD’S HOME PAGE The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one. Richard's Text ©The Actual Freedom Trust: 1997- . All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer and Use Restrictions and Guarantee of Authenticity