emergent means emerging; coming into view or into existence; nascent; new.
emergent is pronounced /ɪˈmɜːd͡ʒənt/.
Why “emergent” is a great word
Coming into view, existence, or prominence, especially in a way that demands immediate attention. From Latin ēmergēns, present participle of ēmergō ("to rise out or up, emerge"), with the specific medical sense a back-formation from 'emergency'. Unlike "incipient," which suggests the earliest, faintest stirring, or "nascent," which describes a bare newness, "emergent" implies a forceful, often abrupt, arrival into a state of visibility. It is the diver breaking the surface with lungs burning, the unmistakable tower of a thunderstorm on the horizon, or the warm flush of fever rising through the skin—the moment a hidden thing becomes, with terrible clarity, impossible to look away from.
Etymology
From Latin ēmergēns, present participle of ēmergō. The medical sense is a back-formation from emergency.
adj
- Emerging; coming into view or into existence; nascent; new.
- Arising unexpectedly, especially if also calling for immediate reaction.e.g.“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”
- Constituting an emergency.e.g.“Therefore, patients with ulcerative colitis should ideally be treated before they become emergent cases with toxic megacolon or perforation of the colon.”
- Taller than the surrounding vegetation.
- Having leaves and flowers above the water.
- Having gameplay that arises from its mechanics, rather than a linear storyline.
- 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.e.g.“an emergent property”
noun
- A plant whose root system grows underwater, but whose shoot, leaves and flowers grow up and above the water.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- emersed 71% match — That rises above the surface. vs emergent →
- emophyte 69% match — Any plant that grows completely submerged. vs emergent →
- emersion 65% match — Emergence, especially from the water. vs emergent →
- elodeid 64% match — A stem plant that completes its entire life cycle submerged, or with only its flowers above the waterline. vs emergent →
- amphiphyte 62% match — Any plant that grows on the edges of water or wetlands, and is sometimes submerged. vs emergent →
- emergence 61% match — The act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view; appearance. vs emergent →
- amphiphytic 60% match — Growing on the edges of water or wetlands, and therefore sometimes submerged. vs emergent →
- emerger 59% match — The form of an aquatic insect that is hatching or emerging; used in fly fishing. vs emergent →