emergent

[ ih-mur-juhnt ]

adjective

1. coming into view or notice; issuing.
2. emerging; emerging; rising from a liquid or other surrounding medium.
3. coming into existence, especially with political independence:

   the emergent nations of Africa.

4. arising casually or unexpectedly.
5. calling for immediate action; urgent.
6. Evolution. displaying emergence.

noun

1. Ecology. an aquatic plant having its stem, leaves, etc., extending above the surface of the water.

emergent

/ ɪˈmɜːdʒənt /

adjective

1. coming into being or notice

   an emergent political structure

2. (of a nation) recently independent

noun

1. an aquatic plant with stem and leaves above the water

emergent

/ ĭ-mûr′jənt /

1. Rooted below a body of water or in an area that is periodically submerged but extending above the water level. Used of aquatic plants such as cattails, rushes, or cord grass.

Derived Forms

• eˈmergently, adverb

Other Words From

• e·mergent·ly adverb
• e·mergent·ness noun
• none·mergent adjective
• ree·mergent adjective
• une·mergent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of emergent¹

1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin ēmergent- (stem of ēmergēns ) arising out of, present participle of ēmergere to emerge

Example Sentences

A way to look at emergent behavior — the coordinated and mesmerizing flight of a flock of birds, for instance.

From Los Angeles Times

There, Babitz found the ideal milieu for her free-form libertinism, sharing pitchers of Schlitz at Barney’s Beanery with the emergent artists of the decade — Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell — and famously posed nude while playing chess with Marcel Duchamp at a local art museum in 1963.

From Los Angeles Times

These are features that California daydreams are made of, and this emergent scene is luring visitors to an outpost 70 miles southeast of downtown San Diego.

From Los Angeles Times

The emergent Tea Party movement of the Obama years was fertile ground for the growth of modern Republicanism’s premodern turn under Donald Trump.

From Salon

Rather than directly address vehicle size, they tout emergent technologies, like pedestrian automatic emergency braking, that can theoretically avoid crashes entirely, negating the risk that hulking vehicles present in a collision.

From Slate