manifestation

American  

[man-uh-fuh-stey-shuhn, -fe-] / ˌmæn ə fəˈsteɪ ʃən, -fɛ- /

noun

• manifestations
  plural

1. an act of manifesting.

   This graffiti is the latest manifestation of a prejudice in our community that we will not tolerate.

2. the state of being manifested.

   The poem calls sacrifice the highest manifestation of love.

3. outward or perceptible indication; materialization.

   At first there was no manifestation of the disease.

4. a public demonstration, as for political effect.

5. the act or practice of trying to attain something desired by thinking about or focusing intensely on it, especially as a spiritual or self-help practice.

   His videos on manifestation are very popular with younger audiences.

6. Also called materialization.  Spiritualism. the physical appearance of a spirit, or the physical evidence of a spirit's presence.

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manifestation British  

/ ˌmænɪfɛˈsteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of demonstrating; display

   a manifestation of solidarity

2. the state of being manifested

3. an indication or sign

4. a public demonstration of feeling

5. the materialization of a disembodied spirit

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonmanifestation
  noun
• premanifestation
  noun
• remanifestation
  noun
• self-manifestation
  noun
• manifestational
  adjective
• manifestative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• manifestations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of manifestation

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin manifestātiōn-, stem of manifestātiō; see manifest, -ation

Explanation

A manifestation is the public display of emotion or feeling, or something theoretical made real. Manifestation's origins are in religion and spirituality because if something spiritual becomes real, it is said to be a manifestation. The word's usage has spread to include all aspects of life. "The submarine is a manifestation of da Vinci's sketches." "The crowd's cheering hysteria was the manifestation of years of allegiance to the now victorious soccer league."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manifestation manifestations

But regardless, this sentiment is spilling into the real world, as a recent Gallup poll showed 71% of Americans opposed construction of the physical manifestation of AI: data centers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Earlier this year, one Iranian restaurant in Kuwait City dropped the words "Iranian cuisine" from its title -- a visible manifestation of the precarious line Iranians must now tread.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

With big homes that can hold lots of kids, “the suburbs are like the physical manifestation of that.”

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

I couldn’t just sit with it in my head where there’s no physical manifestation of it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Hunter turned, looked them up and down, and laughed, but in a way more for them to hear than as a manifestation of actual mirth.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

They are manifestations of the same broad Himalayan hazard system.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The exhibit, which professes to illustrate storytelling through art in its earliest manifestations, is a jarring introduction to a museum that houses 1,300 original works.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

"What's exciting about Nell2 is that we were able to reverse the disease manifestations in adult mice by lowering its level," Huang says.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

But in “Event Horizon,” Neill avoids hokeyness in what could otherwise be an extremely hokey film, finding the emotional center in a character whose inner demons become real-life manifestations of Hell.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

The Harvard men asked the believers to define the spirit manifestations.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• demonstration
• explanation
• expression
• indication
• instance
• meaning
• phenomenon
• symptom
• token