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View synonyms for phenomena

phenomena

[ fi-nom-uh-nuh ]

noun

  1. a plural of phenomenon.


phenomena

/ fɪˈnɒmɪnə /

noun

  1. a plural of phenomenon
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Usage Note

As with other plurals of Latin or Greek origin, like media and criteria, there is a tendency to use the plural phenomena as a singular ( This phenomena will not be seen again ), but such use occurs infrequently in edited writing. The plural form phenomenas, though occasionally seen, has even less currency.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of phenomena1

First recorded in 1580–90 with spelling phænomena
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Example Sentences

Eventually, Collins wrote a best-selling book of his own, The Language of God, in which he uses scientific phenomena as evidence of a Deity.

From Time

You can’t describe the interesting phenomena of the world if you just start with Coulomb’s law and the Schrödinger equation.

No sooner had the radical equations of quantum mechanics been discovered than physicists identified one of the strangest phenomena the theory allows.

In the late 1980s, a mathematician named Andreas Floer developed a theory called Floer homology, a powerful framework that is now the primary way mathematicians investigate symplectic phenomena.

Another quantum phenomena called entanglement makes it possible to link many of these qubits together.

One of the most romantic—and, some would say, unrealistic—phenomena of American culture is the concept of “the one.”

Much of this shift reflects the social phenomena of inheritors in general.

Two 20th-century phenomena, occurring in quick succession, are the culprits.

That law governs all sorts of phenomena, including rocket engines, collisions between electrons, and car wrecks.

Comic-Con is now a huge pop culture phenomena and major money maker for San Diego.

The particular phenomena of vegetation also afford abundant evidence that humus cannot be the only source of carbon.

First of all comes astronomy, including the phenomena exhibited in the heavens, beyond the limits of the earth's atmosphere.

The reader will therefore, I am sure, bear with me if I make two or three silly suggestions upon this phenomena of moving tables.

At first geologists were disposed to attribute all the phenomena of mountain-folding to the progressive cooling of the earth.

Look beyond the phenomena of uplifted mountain-masses, deep-scooped ocean basins, forest-laying tempests and land-consuming waves.

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More About Phenomena

What does phenomena mean?

Phenomena is the plural of phenomenon, which most generally refers to an observable occurrence or circumstance. For example, hurricanes and tornadoes are two kinds of weather phenomena.

Phenomenon is also commonly used to refer to an extraordinary event or something that becomes the subject of widespread interest and attention, as in Both films have become worldwide phenomena.

Sometimes, phenomenon refers to a person with an extraordinary talent or ability, especially a relatively young person who is considered a prodigy. The word phenom (a shortened form of phenomenon) is commonly used to mean the same thing, as in She became an internationally known chess phenom when she was just 14 years old. This sense of phenomenon is not commonly pluralized as phenomena.

Example: Scientists are struggling to explain these strange phenomena, saying they’ve never seen anything like them.

Where does phenomena come from?

The first records of the word phenomena come from the 1580s. It is the plural of phenomenon, which comes from the Greek phainómenon, from the verb phaínesthai, meaning “to appear, become visible,” from phaínein, “to show, bring to light, make known.”

Most senses of phenomenon deal with things that are visible or observable or that have become well-known. In science, the word phenomena is typically used to refer to things that occur naturally and can be observed, such as a weather phenomena or a cosmic phenomena. In philosophy, it’s used more broadly to refer to objects of perception or experience.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to phenomena?

What are some synonyms for phenomena?

What are some words that share a root or word element with phenomena

What are some words that often get used in discussing phenomena?

How is phenomena used in real life?

Phenomena is a somewhat formal word, but it can be used in all kinds of contexts, including serious scientific ones and ones involving pop culture.

Try using phenomena!

True or False?

Lightning and hail are both examples of weather phenomena.

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phenomphenomenal