phenomenon
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6 ENTRIES FOUND:

phe·nom·e·non

noun \fi-ˈnä-mə-ˌnän, -nən\
plural phe·nom·e·na \-nə, -ˌnä\ or phe·nom·e·nons

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
3
a : a rare or significant fact or event
b plural phenomenons : an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal person, thing, or occurrence
See Usage Discussion at phenomena

Examples of PHENOMENON

  1. natural phenomena like lightning and earthquakes
  2. the greatest literary phenomenon of the decade
  3. The movie eventually became a cultural phenomenon.
  4. 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

Origin of PHENOMENON

Late Latin phaenomenon, from Greek phainomenon, from neuter of phainomenos, present participle of phainesthai to appear, middle voice of phainein to show — more at fancy
First Known Use: 1605

phe·nom·e·non

noun \fi-ˈnäm-ə-ˌnän, -nən\   (Medical Dictionary)
plural ; phe·nom·e·na \-nə, -ˌnä\ (audio pronunciation)

Medical Definition of PHENOMENON

1
: an observable fact or event
2
a : an object or aspect known through the senses rather than by thought or intuition b : a fact or event of scientific interest susceptible of scientific description and explanation

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