The English Oracle

Can the word "coexist" be used for more than two things/people/subjects/... etc?

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Chapters
00:00 Can The Word &Quot;Coexist&Quot; Be Used For More Than Two Things/People/Subjects/... Etc?
00:23 Accepted Answer Score 10
01:01 Answer 2 Score 5
01:18 Thank you

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Tags
#singlewordrequests #wordchoice #wordusage

#avk47



ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 10


Yes, the definition does not impose any limits on this:

Exist at the same time or in the same place.

(source: Lexico)

and there are some example sentences there as well which imply more than two subjects:

  • Modern Western medical practices coexist with traditional healing methods and the use of medicinal plants.
  • Nobody has convincingly explained how the birds, bees, flowers and hares of the uplands can coexist with a new influx of humans.
  • Amazon plants, evergreen pines, basil and other strange flora coexisted in perfect harmony.



ANSWER 2

Score 5


From wikitionary:

coexistence (countable and uncountable, plural coexistences): The state of two or more things existing together, usually in a temporal or spatial sense, with or without mutual interaction.

So yes, more than 2 subjects can coexist together.