emergent

American  

[ih-mur-juhnt] / ɪˈmɜr dʒənt /

adjective

1. coming into view or notice; issuing.

2. 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.

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noun

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

emergent British  

/ ɪˈmɜːdʒənt /

adjective

1. coming into being or notice

   an emergent political structure

2. (of a nation) recently independent

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noun

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

emergent Scientific  

/ 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonemergent
  adjective
• emergentness
  noun
• unemergent
  adjective
• emergently
  adverb
• reemergent
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of emergent

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

Explanation

If you have an emergent talent for science, your teacher might bump you up to an advanced science class. Emergent is an adjective that describes something that is emerging, or suddenly coming into existence. Emergent means “coming into being.” It's often used in phrases like “emergent technologies.” These are brand-new technologies that we can expect to be widely used in the near future. The Internet, for example, was an emergent technology in the early 1990s. Emergent sometimes implies that what is coming into being is surprising and demands a response. An “emergent disease,” for instance, would send scientists scrambling to find a cure. In this sense emergent is related to emergency.

Example Sentences

A pair of scientists make the case for a natural law that accounts for emergent order.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

As scientists continue to explore how geometry shapes quantum behavior, such emergent magnetic states could play an important role in developing energy efficient, post-CMOS computing technologies.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

“To frame the discussion, 25 to 30 years ago, the key emergent risk was corporate credit risk,” he said, noting out that the U.S. federal government “actually ran some surpluses then.”

From MarketWatch • Jan. 27, 2026

The narrative of “AI eating software” cropped up in late 2025, suggesting the emergent technology was rapidly replacing and automating tasks traditionally handled by software applications.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

As a result, small changes at a lower level of organization can lead to emergent changes at a higher level.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond