Emergent

/ɪˈmɜːd͡ʒənt/ · adjective

Meaning

Emerging; coming into view or into existence; nascent; new..

Definitions by Sense

1. Emerging; coming into view or into existence; nascent; new.
2. Arising unexpectedly, especially if also calling for immediate reaction.
3. (especially medicine) Constituting an emergency.
4. (botany) Taller than the surrounding vegetation.
5. (botany, of a water-dwelling plant) Having leaves and flowers above the water.
6. (video games) Having gameplay that arises from its mechanics, rather than a linear storyline.
7. (philosophy, epistemology, sciences) That arises at a higher level than that of its components and is not explainable by the behaviour of said components taken individually; having properties as a whole that are more complex than the properties contributed by each of the components individually.
8. (botany) A plant whose root system grows underwater, but whose shoot, leaves and flowers grow up and above the water.

Example Sentences

The chief precepts of their priests enjoin the strict keeping of their Lents, which are at least seven months in every year, and are not to be dispensed with on the most emergent necessity. Letter 43

Therefore, patients with ulcerative colitis should ideally be treated before they become emergent cases with toxic megacolon or perforation of the colon.

Bleeding manifestations in chronic DIC are more subacute than in acute DIC, but may become emergent as DIC progresses.

As a rule, esophageal disorders become emergent when the airway is compromised either by the initial insult or by a high risk of aspiration.

Before communication and cognition impair decision-making, and before the medical needs for interventions become emergent, advance decisions about nutrition and ventilation must be discussed.

In short, emergent games are ones that allow a huge range of possibilities and don't dictate a strict, linear flow of events. A strategy game is emergent because so many units can interact and have some effect on each other.

an emergent property

A high-level phenomenon is strongly emergent with respect to a low-level domain when the high-level phenomenon arises from the low-level domain, but truths concerning that phenomenon are not deducible even in principle from truths in the low-level domain.[…] A high-level phenomenon is weakly emergent with respect to a low-level domain when the high-level phenomenon arises from the low-level domain, but truths concerning that phenomenon are unexpected given the principles governing the low-level domain.

Synonyms for emergent

Antonyms for emergent

Related Words

Word Forms

• more emergent
• most emergent
• emergents

Usage Notes

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