multiverse

1. (philosophy) The world, considered as lacking in purpose, design, or predictability.Examples: "Visible nature is all plasticity and indifference, a multiverse, as one might call it, and not a universe."; "I've never gone through a place like Racine without thinking which house with the rubber-tire swing for kids and piano-practicing inside was like Stiva Lausch's, who had two daughters brought up with every refinement, including piano lessons, and how such little-speaking Odessa-bred sons had gotten on a track like this through the multiverse."

2. (physics, cosmology) The hypothetical group of all the possible universes in existence.Examples: "Our universe is a very small part of the multiverse."; "And, it must be remembered, that in the great multiverse they were a mere scattering of seeds; seeds that must survive many elements if they were to grow."; "I have been describing show us that the multiverse exists and that it contains many counterparts of each particle in the tangible universe. To reach the further conclusion that the multiverse is roughly partitioned into parallel universes, we must consider interference phenomena involving more than one tangible particle."Synonyms: maniverse, meta-universe, metaverse, pluriverse, superverse

3. (fiction) The different canons, continuities or timelines of a fictional property, considered as a whole.Examples: "In the DC multiverse, our reality is called "Earth-33". But in the Marvel multiverse, it's "Earth-1218"."; "What’s better than a Marvel Cinematic Universe? A Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. Once limited to theoretical physics and comic-book plot conveniences, the notion of a multiverse has been an essential tool for Hollywood. Whether it’s a role that’s been cast and recast, a franchise character that gets a spin-off when the larger story ends, or simply a reboot telling a new story without upending its origins, the answer to any big movie problem is often: multiverse."