Question

The collective noun for a group of kittens is a _____ of kittens.
Fill in the blank with an appropriate word.

Answer 1

Hint: We use a collective noun is a term that is able to describe a group of persons or animals. We may refer to a category of objects with the help of a single word by using a collective noun. They are often referred to as grouped nouns because they signify a variety of objects.

Complete answer:
There can be multiple words that can act as the required collective noun. Let us look at what the term ‘kitten’ means. The version of a cat that is younger or a newborn cat is commonly referred to as a kitten.

KINDLE of kittens is the collective noun for a collection or a group of kittens. So the term we require is ‘kindle’. Also, another collective noun for kittens is LITTER. There are other words that can describe a group of cats such as a clutter of cats or a glaring of cats. This means that the other terms that will refer to a collection of cats are ‘clutter’ or ‘glaring’.

However, it should be noted that a collection of cats is an unusual sight to see and they seldom wander in groups. Kittens and cats rather stroll alone or prefer their own company. So it is not common to use such collective nouns.

Note: There is a common misconception among people that plural nouns are the same as collective nouns, but that is not true. The noun that is used in place of the plural form (more than one) of a given word is called the world's plural noun. On the other hand, when we use a collective noun it is of the singular form where it describes a collection of objects or creatures. Take the example of a noun ‘whale’, its plural noun is ‘whales’ and its collective noun is ‘pod’.