phenomenon

noun

Save Word

phe·nom·e·non | \ fi-ˈnä-mə-ˌnän

, -nən \

plural phenomena\ fi-ˈnä-mə-nə

, -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

Synonyms Can phenomena be used as a singular?: Usage Guide Example Sentences Phrases Containing phenomenon Learn More About phenomenon

Can phenomena be used as a singular?: Usage Guide

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.

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Bitcoin IRAs are still a new phenomenon, and Ethereum IRAs are even more recent. — Robert Samuels | For Iron Monk Solutions, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 May 2022 Club Digital was a phenomenon on Clubhouse and in real life. — Ahmad Davis, Billboard, 10 May 2022 Employees living at their place of work in Shanghai isn’t a phenomenon unique to Tesla — as the city’s stringent lockdown measures rage on, authorities have been encouraging companies to adopt the closed-loop system to keep the economy going. — Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 10 May 2022 La Niña is a phenomenon which causes warmer than normal temperatures across parts of the West and below normal precipitation. — Jennifer Gray, CNN, 9 May 2022 The missing cases aren’t a new phenomenon, but it's only been recently that awareness of the issue has gained attention nationally. — Arlyssa Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 7 May 2022 Some people could be genetically less primed to be infected by certain pathogens, even after they’re exposed—a phenomenon well documented with HIV, for instance. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 4 May 2022 Historically, inflation has been a persistent phenomenon in Latin American countries and has contributed to a substantial decrease in people’s purchasing power and, therefore, to families’ quality of life. — Gabriela Berrospi, Forbes, 4 May 2022 According to the investigation, ground resonance events are a phenomenon of multi-bladed helicopters caused by the blades rotating off the aircraft’s center of gravity. — Andrew Dyer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2022 See More

These 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.