I. sev ‧ er ‧ al 1 S1 W1 /ˈsev ə rəl/ BrE AmE determiner , pronoun
a number of people or things that is more than a few, but not a lot:
I visited him in Kansas several times.
Several people have volunteered to go.
several hundred/thousand etc
The bill came to several hundred pounds.
‘Have you read any of his books?’ ‘Yes, several.’
several of
Several of her colleagues agreed with her decision.
We had to wait several more weeks before the results arrived.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ several more than a few people or things, but not a large number:
She’s been to Japan several times.
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I’ve read several of his books.
▪ a number of something several. A number of sounds more formal than several :
We have received a number of complaints about last night’s programme.
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There are a number of different airlines to choose from.
▪ quite a few several – used when emphasizing that there are rather a lot of people, things etc. Quite a few sounds more informal than several and is more commonly used in spoken English:
Quite a few people were already in the pool.
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She made quite a few enemies.
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It took him quite a few days to make up his mind.
II. several 2 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun, no comparative] formal
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Anglo-French ; Origin: Medieval Latin separalis , from Latin separare ; ⇨ ↑ separate 2 ]
different and separate SYN respective :
They shook hands and went their several ways (=went in different directions) .
—severally adverb :
These issues can be considered severally, or as a whole.