Meaning & use
plural society
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Meaning
nouncountablespecialist
A society made up of several ethnic, religious or cultural groups that live in the same country, often keeping their own customs and institutions.
Grammar: Often used in political or academic writing: a plural society.
Patterns
- a plural society of something
Malaysia is often described as a plural society with Malay, Chinese and Indian communities.
In a plural society, laws must respect the different customs of each group.
Some scholars argue that a plural society can remain stable only if power is shared.
Word forms
| plural | plural societies |
|---|
Common combinations
- a diverse plural society
- They live in a diverse plural society.
- build a plural society
- The new government wants to build a plural society.
- in a plural society
- Religious tolerance matters in a plural society.
- a plural society like
- A plural society like India has many languages.
- model of a plural society
- The textbook gives a model of a plural society.
Synonyms and how they differ
- multicultural society
- Multicultural society is the everyday term, and it often carries a positive tone, while plural society is more neutral and analytical.
- diverse society
- Diverse society is broader and can refer to any kind of variety, not only separate cultural groups.
- multiethnic society
- Multiethnic society focuses only on ethnic groups, whereas plural society may also include religion and class.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: plural society or plural noun?
plural society vs plural noun
A plural noun is a grammar term for more than one thing, and is unrelated to social groups.
Practice
Which term describes a country with several ethnic and religious communities living together?
Choose one answer.
A plural society has several distinct communities. A closed society limits outside influence, which is a different idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plural society”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.