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.

---

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

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

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

“The extreme wildfires we’ve been seeing really didn’t get started until 2016,” said Ghilarducci, who is now chief executive of Emergent Global Solutions, a crisis management consulting firm.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Bavarian Nordic, with $2.7 billion in 2025 U.S. revenue, and Emergent Biosolutions produce the two FDA-approved mpox vaccines.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

Shortly after the sales were completed on Feb. 8, “the market price of Emergent stock began to decline consistently, and has not recovered since,” James said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

I put out five volumes of that adventure called "Emergent Behavior," and if people are interested they can check it out on my website.

From Salon • Sep. 18, 2024

But that was not the Emergent Moment of which I would speak.

From From Pillar to Post Leaves from a Lecturer's Note-Book by Bangs, John Kendrick