phenomenological

[ fi-nom-uh-nl-oj-i-kuhl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or based on observed or observable facts:

   The researchers opted for a phenomenological investigation rather than a purely theoretical study.

2. Philosophy. of or relating to someone’s awareness or experience of something rather than the thing itself:

   Case study scholars examine a particular phenomenon, while phenomenological scholars examine its essence and meaning as experienced by people in their everyday lives.

Other Words From

• phe·nom·e·no·log·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of phenomenological¹

phenomenolog(y) ( def ) + -ical ( def )

Example Sentences

Here he treads awkwardly, introducing the “real” problem, which is to “explain, predict, and control the phenomenological properties of conscious experience.”

From MIT Technology Review

This is the closet Bordo comes to a phenomenological approximation of what it was like to be Anne Boleyn.

From The Daily Beast

It also can be understood as forming part of a phenomenological point of view.

From Project Gutenberg