emer·gent
i-ˈmər-jənt 
1
a
: arising unexpectedly
b
: calling for prompt action : urgent
emergent danger
2
a
: rising out of or as if out of a fluid
emergent coastal islands
b
: rooted in shallow water and having most of its vegetative growth above water
an emergent plant
3
: arising as a natural or logical consequence
4
: newly formed or prominent
emergent nations
1
: something emergent
2
a
: a tree that rises above the surrounding forest
b
: an emergent plant
Examples of emergent in a Sentence
Adjective
since the problem was not seen as emergent, implementation of the expensive solution for it was continually put off
Recent Examples on the Web
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2026
Use Selective Herbicides White clover is best controlled by applications of post-emergent broadleaf selective herbicides in the fall.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2026
Nicholas Dames, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2026
Stanton’s disdain for immigrants led her into emergent realms of pseudoscience that would transform into eugenics; her rhetoric about women strayed from the principle of gender equality into essentialist ideas about women’s feminine specialness.
—Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for emergent
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Adjective
The data presented showed INA year 0-2 emergent bilingual students significantly behind students not at INA over the last three school years.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2026
Use Selective Herbicides White clover is best controlled by applications of post-emergent broadleaf selective herbicides in the fall.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2026
Noun
The middle-generation experience, the bidirectional mourning that comes of being split between the vanishing and the emergent, preoccupies Transcription.
—Nicholas Dames, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2026
Stanton’s disdain for immigrants led her into emergent realms of pseudoscience that would transform into eugenics; her rhetoric about women strayed from the principle of gender equality into essentialist ideas about women’s feminine specialness.
—Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for emergent
Cite this Entry
“Emergent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emergent. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
emergent
adjective
emer·gent
i-ˈmər-jənt
: calling for prompt or urgent action
an emergent condition in a hemophiliac
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