Sentence:  There is evidence to suggest , in fact , that <WSD>many</WSD> authors of the humorous sketches were prompted to write them - or to make them as indelicate as they are - by way of protesting against the artificial refinements which had come to dominate the polite letters of the South . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number