epiphany

noun epiph·a·ny \ i-ˈpi-fə-nē \

Updated on: 9 May 2018

Definition of epiphany

plural epiphanies

1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ

2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being

3 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something

(2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking

(3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

b : a revealing scene or moment

See epiphany defined for English-language learners

Examples of epiphany in a Sentence

Invention has its own algorithm: genius, obsession, serendipity, and epiphany in some unknowable combination. —Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker, 12 May 2008
One day, a New York composer met an expert on Asian domesticated elephants, and together they reached some sort of freakish epiphany and decided to see if elephants could learn to play music. —Jon Pareles, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2002
One epiphany came when a dozen engineers in northern New Mexico saw a lone, fading Xerox paper carton bobbing in a swamp of old motor oil at the bottom of a pit. —Michelle Conlin, Business Week, 1 Nov. 1999
Seeing her father again when she was an adult was an epiphany that changed her whole view of her childhood.

Recent Examples of epiphany from the Web

After just two catches in 2016, Ratley had an epiphany.

— cleveland.com, "Damion Ratley: Get to know the Browns' No. 175 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft," 28 Apr. 2018
Reading Giraffee125's thread was like having an epiphany.

— devon abelman, Allure, "This Hack For Sharpening Dull Tweezers Is Going Viral on Reddit," 13 Apr. 2018
In recent years, the broader business world has experienced a similar epiphany about the power of design to enrich products and experiences, connect with customers, and help companies accelerate growth.

— andrew nusca, Fortune, "Black Panther, Airbnb, Apple: Business by Design for March 4, 2018," 3 Mar. 2018
Nature Pagoda may not seem at first much like a place for clay pot rice epiphany.

— jonathan gold, latimes.com, "There’s crocodile and hog stomach, but Jonathan Gold is all about the crusty rice at Nature Pagoda," 6 Apr. 2018
Father Couturier’s belief in art as an expression of the ineffable was the great epiphany to the de Menils.

— meryle secrest, WSJ, "‘Double Vision’ Review: American Medicis," 5 Apr. 2018
Amsterdam brought him his first french fries with mayonnaise: an epiphany.

— Longreads, "“We All Had the Same Acid Flashback at the Same Time”: The New American Cuisine," 29 Mar. 2018
And in the end, there’s no writing-workshop epiphany, but rather that thrilling moment when the circles and arrows linking up the photographs thumbtacked to the squad-room wall form a previously unseen web of connection.

— mark binelli, New York Times, "Is the Next Nobel Laureate in Literature Tending Bar in a Dusty Australian Town?," 27 Mar. 2018
Men who have merely watched a video, or experienced a V.R. simulation without undergoing the embodiment process, report fewer such epiphanies.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "Are We Already Living in Virtual Reality?," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'epiphany.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of epiphany

Middle English epiphanie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin epiphania, from Late Greek, plural, probably alteration of Greek epiphaneia appearance, manifestation, from epiphainein to manifest, from epi- + phainein to show — more at fancy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Calendar Terms

antedate, estival, gloaming, luster, sesquicentennial

EPIPHANY Defined for English Language Learners

epiphany

noun

Definition of epiphany for English Language Learners

Epiphany : a Christian festival held on January 6 in honor of the coming of the three kings to the infant Jesus Christ
: a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way