microcosm
a little world; a world in miniature (opposed to macrocosm): The human body is a microcosm.
anything regarded as a representative, miniature version of a larger complex reality: The fictional small town of Black Rock, California, serves as a microcosm of America in the postwar era.
Environmental Science. a controlled experimental environment or ecosystem small enough to be housed in a laboratory and reproducing conditions that occur on a larger scale in the outdoors: Researchers have investigated the survival of this bacteria in saline solutions and seawater in laboratory microcosms.: Compare mesocosm.
human beings, humanity, society, or the like, viewed as an epitome or miniature of the world or universe: In the human microcosm, intellect is the deep spiritual center of being.
Origin of microcosm
1- Also called mi·cro·cos·mos [mahy-kruh-koz-muhs, -mohs]. /ˌmaɪ krəˈkɒz məs, -moʊs/.
Other words from microcosm
- mi·cro·cos·mic [mahy-kruh-koz-mik], /ˌmaɪ krəˈkɒz mɪk/, mi·cro·cos·mi·cal, adjective
Words Nearby microcosm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use microcosm in a sentence
I spoke with pawnbrokers across the country about what the business has been like in this unprecedented year, and the picture that emerged was a microcosm of the economy that flies under the radar for many.
It’s easy to assume pawnshops are doing great in the pandemic. It’s also wrong. | Emily Stewart | November 30, 2020 | VoxHsieh wanted to create a microcosm of Silicon Valley that was infused with the ethos of Burning Man.
The complexity and brilliance of Tony Hsieh: a personal appreciation | Aimee Groth | November 30, 2020 | QuartzArtists are trying to make plurality work in these little microcosms.
With playhouses dark, interactive theater online is lighting things up | Peter Marks | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostIn some ways, the boycott was a microcosm for how some advertisers see inclusive media buying.
Schools really are their own microcosm where you have a lot of individuals from different areas in the community coming in.
When Can Schools Safely Reopen? The Answer Is Part Science, Part Guesswork. | Kaleigh Rogers (kaleigh.rogers@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 19, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
But what happens at Winchester University is a microcosm of the cruel world beyond its be-crested gates.
‘Dear White People’ Is the Race Movie America Didn’t Know It Needed | Rawiya Kameir | October 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI begin to observe that it sounds as if Sully is in microcosm what Newman himself…but that is as far as I get.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70 | Peter Richmond | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe way he approaches his sexual escapades is only a microcosm of his general douchebag approach to life.
Altogether, the monks, the Dukes, and the winemakers created a microcosm the influence of which can still be felt today.
The Next UNESCO World Heritage Site: Burgundy’s Pinot Noir Country? | Jordan Salcito | May 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTImmigration reform is a hugely consequential microcosm of the national political debate.
The broad-beamed budgerow presented a strangely accurate microcosm of India at that moment.
The Red Year | Louis TracyWe grant that man is a very complex machine, a microcosm peopled with possibilities of which we can understand but little.
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology | St. John D. (St. John Drelincourt) SeymourMaimonides knew Joseph ibn Zaddik favorably, but he was not familiar with the "microcosm."
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac HusikMan is called "microcosm," a world in miniature, because he has in him represented all the elements of the universe.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac HusikWe must now review briefly the practical part of Ibn Zaddik's philosophy as it is found in the fourth part of the "microcosm."
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac Husik
British Dictionary definitions for microcosm
microcosmos (ˌmaɪkrəʊˈkɒzmɒs)
/ (ˈmaɪkrəʊˌkɒzəm) /
a miniature representation of something, esp a unit, group, or place regarded as a copy of a larger one
man regarded as epitomizing the universe
Origin of microcosm
1- Compare macrocosm
Derived forms of microcosm
- microcosmic or microcosmical, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for microcosm
A representation of something on a much smaller scale. Microcosm means “small world,” and in the thought of the Renaissance, it was applied specifically to human beings, who were considered to be small-scale models of the universe, with all its variety and contradiction. (Compare macrocosm.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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