Meaning & use
diversity
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Meanings
noununcountable
A range of many different types of things or people within a group or place.
Grammar: Uncountable; followed by of: diversity of species.
Patterns
- diversity of something
- great diversity
- biological diversity
The rainforest is known for its biological diversity.
We encourage a diversity of opinions in the discussion.
noununcountable
The practice or goal of including people of different races, cultures, genders, and backgrounds.
Grammar: Uncountable; common in workplace, education, and policy contexts.
Patterns
- diversity in the workplace
- promote diversity
- cultural diversity
The company launched a program to improve diversity in leadership.
The school celebrates the cultural diversity of its students.
Common combinations
- cultural diversity
- The city is proud of its cultural diversity.
- diversity of opinion
- There is a healthy diversity of opinion in the group.
- biodiversity
- The law protects the region's biodiversity.
- workplace diversity
- Workplace diversity helps teams solve problems more creatively.
- embrace diversity
- The university strives to embrace diversity in all its forms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- variety
- The general word for a range of different things; diversity stresses the positive value of that range.
- assortment
- A collection of different things, usually physical objects; not used for people or social inclusion.
- multiplicity
- Formal; a large number or variety, without the social sense.
Opposites
Word family
- diverse adjective
- Made up of many different kinds of people or things.
- diversify verb
- To make or become more varied; to expand into new areas.
- diversification noun
- The process of adding variety, for example to products or investments.
Commonly confused: diversity or diversify? diversity or adversity?
diversity vs diversify
Diversity is the noun naming the state of variety; diversify is the verb meaning to add variety.
diversity vs adversity
Adversity means serious difficulty or hardship; only the first letters differ, so they are easy to confuse in spelling.
Practice
The island is famous for the ___ of its wildlife.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a noun after 'the' and before 'of'; diversity fits, while diverse is an adjective, diversify a verb, and diversification means the process of adding variety.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “diversity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.