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microcosm
[ mahy-kruh-koz-uhm ]
noun
- a little world; a world in miniature ( macrocosm ):
The human body is a microcosm.
- anything regarded as a representative, miniature version of a larger complex reality:
The fictional small town of Black Rock, California, serves as a microcosm of America in the postwar era.
- Environmental Science. a controlled experimental environment or ecosystem small enough to be housed in a laboratory and reproducing conditions that occur on a larger scale in the outdoors: Compare mesocosm ( def ).
Researchers have investigated the survival of this bacteria in saline solutions and seawater in laboratory microcosms.
- human beings, humanity, society, or the like, viewed as an epitome or miniature of the world or universe:
In the human microcosm, intellect is the deep spiritual center of being.
microcosm
/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌkɒzəm; ˌmaɪkrəʊˈkɒzmɒs /
noun
- a miniature representation of something, esp a unit, group, or place regarded as a copy of a larger one
- man regarded as epitomizing the universe
microcosm
- A representation of something on a much smaller scale. Microcosm means “small world,” and in the thought of the Renaissance , it was applied specifically to human beings, who were considered to be small-scale models of the universe, with all its variety and contradiction. ( Compare macrocosm .)
Derived Forms
- ˌmicroˈcosmic, adjective
Other Words From
- mi·cro·cos·mic [mahy-kr, uh, -, koz, -mik], mi·cro·cos·mi·cal adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of microcosm1
Word History and Origins
Origin of microcosm1
Example Sentences
In the back row, Ben Earl's energy kept opposite number Ardie Savea from shining too brightly in the summer - their personal battle could be the match in microcosm.
It’s a microcosm of the world and its vices, and not only because the sounds of several languages permeate the steamy premises.
The unwilling eavesdropping was a microcosm of the whole weekend.
You could say that Sunday's game was a microcosm of Williams' rookie season.
Pennsylvania is not only the most valuable swing state, it also can be seen as a microcosm of the US as a whole – demographically, economically and politically.
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