uncountable
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
uncountable (not comparable)
- So many as to be incapable of being counted.
- The reasons for our failure were as uncountable as the grains of sand on a beach.
- (mathematics) Incapable of being put into one-to-one correspondence with the natural numbers or any subset thereof.
- Cantor’s “diagonal proof” shows that the set of real numbers is uncountable.
- (grammar, of a noun) That cannot be used freely with numbers or the indefinite article, and therefore usually takes no plural form. Example: information.
- Many languages do not distinguish countable nouns from uncountable nouns.
- One meaning in law of the usually uncountable noun "information" is used in the plural and is countable.
Synonyms[edit]
- (too many to be counted): countless; see also Thesaurus:innumerable
- (grammar): non-count
Antonyms[edit]
Hypernyms[edit]
- (set theory): infinite
Derived terms[edit]
- uncountable noun
- uncountable set
- uncountably
Translations[edit]
too many to be counted
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mathematics: incapable of being enumerated by natural numbers
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linguistics: about a noun which cannot be counted
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Noun[edit]
uncountable (plural uncountables)
- (grammar) An uncountable noun.
- 1988, Anna Wierzbicka, The Semantics of Grammar, page 440:
- But inherent uncountables such as 'stuffs' can be conceptualized in two different ways, depending on whether they are viewed in terms of quantity or in terms of quality.
See also[edit]
- (mathematics) infinite
- (mathematics) innumerable
- (linguistics) mass noun
- (linguistics) singulare tantum
- Category:Uncountable nouns by language
Categories:
- English terms prefixed with un-
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Mathematics
- en:Grammar
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Infinity
- en:Set theory