noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ɪˈmɜː.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/
UK:/iˈmɜː.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/
General-American:/ɪˈmɝ.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/
General-American:/iˈmɝ.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)dʒəns
CMU ARPABET:IH0 M ER1 JH AH0 N S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:IY1 M ER0 JH AH0 N S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view; appearance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view; appearance.
The arising of emergent structure in complex systems.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An emergency.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An outgrowth from the surface, such as a prickle or wart, differing from hairs in arising from more than the superficial cells, and from spines in arising from a few layers only.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
the act of coming (or going) out; becoming apparent
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: egress, egression
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: act, deed, human action, human activity
Narrower terms: surfacing, emission, emanation
6
noun
Meaning 6
the act of emerging
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: emersion
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: appearance
7
noun
Meaning 7
the becoming visible
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
not a day's difference between the emergence of the andrenas and the opening of the willow catkins
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: egress, issue
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: beginning
Narrower terms: eruption, dissilience
8
noun
Meaning 8
the gradual beginning or coming forth
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
figurines presage the emergence of sculpture in Greece
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: outgrowth, growth
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: beginning
Narrower terms: rise
History
Etymology
Borrowed from French émergence. Doublet of emergency. By surface analysis, emerge + -ence.
Across languages
Translations
51 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
изплуване
(izpluvane)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Bulgarian:
появяване
(pojavjavane)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Catalan:
emergència
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Czech:
vynoření
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Czech:
vznik
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Dutch:
opkomst
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Finnish:
ilmaantuminen
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Finnish:
esille tuleminen
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Finnish:
ilmestyminen
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Finnish:
pilkahtaminen
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
French:
émergence
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Latin:
ēmergentia
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Macedonian:
појаву́вање
(pojavúvanje)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Macedonian:
излегу́вање
(izlegúvanje)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Macedonian:
возникну́вање
(vozniknúvanje)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Occitan:
emergéncia
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Russian:
всплыва́ние
(vsplyvánije)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Russian:
всплы́тие
(vsplýtije)
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Serbo-Croatian:
emergencija
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Spanish:
surgimiento
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Spanish:
emersión
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Swedish:
uppdykande
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Tocharian B:
lalñe
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Turkish:
zuhur
— the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Arabic:
انبثاق
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Armenian:
առաջացում
(aṙaǰacʻum)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Bulgarian:
поява
(pojava)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Catalan:
propietats emergents
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Chinese:
突現 /突现
(thé-hiān)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Chinese Mandarin:
湧現 /涌现
(chūxiàn)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Chinese Mandarin:
出現 /出现
(chūxiàn)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Chinese Mandarin:
突現 /突现
(tūxiàn)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Czech:
emergence
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Dutch:
emergentie
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Finnish:
emergenssi
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
French:
émergence
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
German:
Emergenz
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Italian:
emergenza
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Japanese:
創発
(sōhatsu)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Macedonian:
по́јава
(pójava)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Norwegian:
emergens
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Polish:
emergencja
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Portuguese:
emergência
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Russian:
появле́ние
(pojavlénije)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Russian:
возникнове́ние
(vozniknovénije)
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Serbo-Croatian:
emergencija
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Slovak:
emergencia
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Spanish:
emergencia
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Spanish:
emersión
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Swedish:
emergens
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Turkish:
belirme
— the arising of emergent structure in complex systems