phenomena

noun phe·nom·e·na \ fi-ˈnä-mə-nə , -ˌnä \

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

Usage guide: Can phenomena be used as a singular?

Definition of phenomena

plural phenomenas

nonstandard

: phenomenon

Can phenomena be used as a singular?

Phenomena has been in occasional use as a singular since the early 18th century, as has the plural phenomenas. Our evidence shows that singular phenomena is primarily a speech form used by poets, critics, and professors, among others, but one that sometimes turns up in edited prose.

- Although it seemed like a fad a few years ago, Twitter has evolved into a phenomena with more than 200 million users …
- —Myron P. Medcalf

It is etymologically no more irregular than stamina and agenda, but it has nowhere near the frequency of use that they have, and while they are standard, phenomena is still rather borderline.

Recent Examples of phenomena from the Web

Low-cost competition is not a new phenomena, even on long international flights.

— New York Times, "Paris Beckons as a Fare War Turns Europe Into a Bargain," 2 July 2018
An open question is how the heaviest nuclei created in astrophysical phenomena decay.

— Scientific American, "Readers Respond to the March 2018 Issue," 13 Mar. 2018
Some online random number generators rely on algorithms, which means their output is, in principle, predictable; others depend on random physical phenomena.

— sophia chen, Science | AAAS, "Why are countries creating public random number generators?," 28 June 2018
That makes for some unusual light phenomena; the sun doesn’t set in summer or rise in winter.

— laura mallonee, WIRED, "Inside the Arctic Circle, Golden Hour Has Nothing on Golden Day," 8 June 2018
The show takes its name from host and Daily Beast critic Ira Madison III’s Twitter catchphrase about pop culture phenomena that need not enter our spheres of consciousness.

— eliana dockterman, Time, "Best Podcasts of 2018 So Far," 5 June 2018
In the year and a half since, Tiziana’s fame, like all viral phenomena, has finally begun to fade.

— rossalyn warren, The Atlantic, "Should the Internet Forget Italy's Most Viral Sex Tape?," 16 May 2018
Who knows what pop culture phenomena will be blamed for the violent crimes of the 2030s.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Revisit the Very 1980s Moral Panic Over Dungeons & Dragons," 19 Apr. 2016
The swirling phenomena was seen tearing through Okaloosa Island, passing over a sound then making landfall in Fort Walton Beach, according to WEAR-TV.

— Fox News, "Watch powerful waterspout churn through Florida beach," 23 Apr. 2018

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