phenomenon
noun
phe·nom·e·non
| \ fi-ˈnä-mə-ˌnän
, -nən\
, -nən\
plural phenomena\ fi-ˈnä-mə-nə
, -ˌnä \
or phenomenons
, -ˌnä \
or phenomenons
Definition of phenomenon
1
plural phenomena
: an observable fact or event
2 plural phenomena
a
: an object or aspect known through the senses rather than by thought or intuition
b
: a temporal or spatiotemporal object of sensory experience as distinguished from a noumenon
c
: a fact or event of scientific interest susceptible to scientific description and explanation
3a
: a rare or significant fact or event
b
plural phenomenons
: an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal person, thing, or occurrence
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Synonyms for phenomenon
Synonyms
caution, flash, marvel, miracle, portent, prodigy, sensation, splendor, wonder
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Examples of phenomenon in a Sentence
For example, we talk more loudly in cars, because of a phenomenon known as the Lombard effect—the speaker involuntarily raises his voice to compensate for background noise.
— John Seabrook, New Yorker, 23 June 2008
This follow-the-winemaker phenomenon is a unique wrinkle in our wine culture.
— James Laube, Wine Spectator, 15 May 2008
Contrary to the notion that war is a continuation of policy by other means … , both Keegan and Mueller find that war is a cultural product rather than a phenomenon or law of nature and therefore subject, like other modes of human expression (the wearing of togas or powdered wigs, the keeping of slaves, the art of cave painting), to the falling out of fashion.
— Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, September 2007
The days and nights of the Irish pub, smoky and dark and intimate, are giving way to another phenomenon: the superpub. These are immense places, loud with music; part honkytonk, part dance hall, some servicing as many as a thousand drinkers on several floors.
— Pete Hamill, Gourmet, April 2007
They were ephemera and phenomena on the face of a contemporary scene. That is, there was really no place for them in the culture, in the economy, yet they were there, at that time, and everyone knew that they wouldn't last very long, which they didn't.
— William Faulkner, letter, 7 Mar. 1957
natural phenomena like lightning and earthquakes
the greatest literary phenomenon of the decade
The movie eventually became a cultural phenomenon.
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Recent Examples on the Web
The phenomenon is particularly strong in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Salesforce, Google, and Palantir, among others. — Samantha Maldonado, Fortune, "At Amazon, Google, and More, Big Tech Employees Are Speaking Out About Bad Company Behavior," 26 Aug. 2019 The phenomenon is particularly strong in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Salesforce, Google and Palantir, among others. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Employees of Big Tech are speaking out like never before," 26 Aug. 2019 Bryan also said the natural phenomenon is occurring every five years. — Kara Fox And Jessie Yeung, CNN, "A giant pumice stone floating in the Pacific could help heal Australia's Great Barrier Reef," 25 Aug. 2019 Scientifically, the phenomenon is responsible for the daily condensation of water vapor which falls as precipitation. — Alfred Oteng-yeboah, Quartz Africa, "Ghana’s pact with China for bauxite mining threatens to ravage a biodiverse forest," 21 Aug. 2019 The phenomenon of large groups, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection defines as groups of more than 100 migrants, is not new. — Rafael Carranza, azcentral, "Large groups of migrants stop crossing at the Arizona-Mexico border," 19 Aug. 2019 The phenomenon is hard to define because of its ideological and geographical fractiousness. — The Economist, "What is “White Nationalism”?," 14 Aug. 2019 The phenomenon, known as an inverted yield curve, is rare and has historically preceded economic slowdowns. — R.a. Schuetz, Houston Chronicle, "Fannie Mae predicts GDP growth will halve by 2020," 16 July 2019 In fact, this phenomenon is the basis for a controversial geoengineering concept that some scientists have proposed to tackle climate change. — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, "Humans May Be Accidentally Geoengineering the Oceans," 15 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phenomenon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for phenomenon
phenomenon
noun
English Language Learners Definition of phenomenon
: something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully
: someone or something that is very impressive or popular especially because of an unusual ability or quality
See the full definition for phenomenon in the English Language Learners Dictionary
phenomenon
noun
phe·nom·e·non
| \ fi-ˈnä-mə-ˌnän
\
\
plural phenomena\ -nə \
or phenomenons
Kids Definition of phenomenon
1
plural phenomena
: an observable fact or event
2
: a rare or important fact or event
3
plural phenomenons
: an extraordinary or exceptional person or thing
phenomenon
noun
phe·nom·e·non
| \ fi-ˈnäm-ə-ˌnän, -nən
\
\
plural phenomena\ -nə, -ˌnä
\
\