What does "legion" mean?
The major unit or division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 infantry soldiers and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
Legion
/ˈliː.d͡ʒən/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The major unit or division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 infantry soldiers and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
- Grammar: legion is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: host, a mass of, a world of, armed force.
- Useful contrasts: civilian, few, noncombatant.
- Usage evidence: My name is Legion; for we are many.
How to use "legion"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "legion" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "legion" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "legion" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "legion" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "legion" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "host" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "legion", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The major unit or division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 infantry soldiers and 100 to 200 cavalry troops. Ancient-Rome
- 2 a vast multitude wordnet
- 3 A combined arms major military unit featuring cavalry, infantry, and artillery, including historical units such as the British Legion, and present-day units such as the Spanish Legion and the French Foreign Legion.
- 4 archaic terms for army wordnet
- 5 A large military or semi-military unit trained for combat; any military force; an army, regiment; an armed, organized and assembled militia.
"Efforts to unionize were routinely met with clubbings, shootings, jailings, blacklistings and executions, perpetrated not only by well-armed legions of company goons, but also by police officers, deputies, National Guardsmen and even regular soldiers."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 a large military unit wordnet
- 7 A national organization or association of former servicemen, such as the American Legion.
- 8 association of ex-servicemen wordnet
- 9 A large number of people; a multitude.
"With all due respect to Aaron, every era seems to have had its legion of wrongdoers and shortcutters who used whatever science was available to get an edge."
- 10 A great number. often, plural
"where one Sin has entered, Legions will force their Way through the fame Breach."
- 11 A group of orders inferior to a class; in scientific classification, a term occasionally used to express an assemblage of objects intermediate between an order and a class. dated
Verb
- 1 To form into legions. transitive
Adjective
- 1 Numerous; vast; very great in number. not-comparable
"Russia’s labor and capital resources are woefully inadequate to overcome the state’s needs and vulnerabilities, which are legion."
Adjective
- 1 amounting to a large indefinite number wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 Ellipsis of American Legion. US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"My name is Legion; for we are many."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "legion"?
Common synonyms include: host, a mass of, a world of, armed force, armed service, armies.
How do you use "legion" in a sentence?
My name is Legion; for we are many.
How do you pronounce "legion"?
Pronounced /ˈliː.d͡ʒən/.
Etymology
Attested (in Middle English, as legioun) around 1200, from Old French legion, from Latin legiō, legionem, from legō (“to gather, collect”); akin to legend, lecture. Doublet of León, which was borrowed from Spanish. Generalized sense of “a large number” is due to an allusive phrase in Mark 5:9, "My name is Legion, for we are many".