Well-read · Science & thinking
Emergent: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Emergent adjective. Arising from the interaction of many parts, and not found in any one part alone.
How to say it
ih-MUR-junt/ɪˈməːdʒ(ə)nt/
3 syllables, stressed on the second (MUR).
Meanings
- Arising from the interaction of many parts, and not found in any one part alone.
- Newly forming or just starting to appear.
Emergent in a sentence
A murmuration’s swirling shape is emergent: no single starling is steering it.
Jams that appear from nowhere on a motorway are an emergent effect of everyone braking a little.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- arising
- developing
- nascent
Where emergent comes from
From Latin emergere, to rise up out of.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Jams that appear from nowhere on a motorway are an _____ effect of everyone braking a little.
- discrete
- emergent
- heterogeneous
Show the answer
emergent: Jams that appear from nowhere on a motorway are an emergent effect of everyone braking a little.