"more activity" why singular?

I came across this sentence while reading an article:

"The massive, untracked streams of cash it creates can fuel more illegal activity, including terrorism."

It seems weird to me that the word "more" was used with the singular form of "activity." Wouldn't it make more sense to say "more illegal activities"? Or is the word "activity" more used as a singular noun than a plural noun?

I would greatly appreciate any help! Thanks! :)

Solution 1:

In this particular case, ‘activity’ designates a body of actions undertaken by somebody and is uncountable. Uncountable nouns refer to actions/objects collectively. A few examples of phrases with the same characteristics: police work/activity, physical exercise, manual work, good advice, etc. We can use determinants such as more/less, intense/mild, better/worse in relation to such words, but we cannot exactly say how much or how many of ‘it’ somebody has done/undergone, etc. ‘Activity’ may be countable or uncountable, but there are many nouns that are uncountable only, whether defective of singular or of plural. According to https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/activity (visited on 05/11/2020), activity means: def. B2 [uncountable] “the situation in which a lot of things are happening or people are moving around: […] Economists are concerned by the low level of economic activity”; def. B2 [countable & uncountable] “the work of a group or organization to achieve an aim: He was found guilty of terrorist activity”.