paradigm

American  

[par-uh-dahym, -dim] / ˈpær əˌdaɪm, -dɪm /

noun

• paradigms
  plural

1. 1. a framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methodology that are commonly accepted by members of a scientific community.

   2. such a cognitive framework shared by members of any discipline or group.

      The company’s business paradigm needs updating for a new generation.

2. Informal. a general mental model or framework for anything.

   Their first album completely blew apart my paradigm for what rock music could be.

3. an example serving as a model for others to imitate; pattern.

   Pelham Dairy’s 10-year aged cheddar is the paradigm of cheddars.

   Synonyms:

   touchstone, paragon, ideal, standard, mold

4. a typical or representative instance or example.

   His experimentalism and iconoclastic attitude towards the past make Picasso a paradigm of 20th century painting.

5. Grammar.

   1. a set of forms all of which contain a particular element, especially the set of all inflected forms based on a single stem or theme.

   2. a display in fixed arrangement of such a set, as boy, boy's, boys, boys'.

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paradigm British  

/ ˈpærəˌdaɪm, ˌpærədɪɡˈmætɪk /

noun

1. grammar the set of all the inflected forms of a word or a systematic arrangement displaying these forms

2. a pattern or model

3. a typical or stereotypical example (esp in the phrase paradigm case )

4. (in the philosophy of science) a very general conception of the nature of scientific endeavour within which a given enquiry is undertaken

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• paradigmatic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• paradigms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paradigm

First recorded in 1475–85; from Late Latin paradigma “example,” from Greek parádeigma “pattern, model, precedent, example” (derivative of paradeiknýnai “to show side by side, compare”), equivalent to para- preposition and prefix + deik-, root of deiknýnai “to show, bring to light, prove” + -ma noun suffix denoting the result of an action; see para- ¹, deictic

Explanation

A paradigm is a standard, perspective, or set of ideas. A paradigm is a way of looking at something. The word paradigm comes up a lot in the academic, scientific, and business worlds. A new paradigm in business could mean a new way of reaching customers and making money. In education, relying on lectures is a paradigm: if you suddenly shifted to all group work, that would be a new paradigm. When you change paradigms, you're changing how you think about something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paradigm paradigms

“We’ve had a major paradigm change, a major regime shift in the capital cycle. The capital cycle was funding financial engineering, now the capital cycle is funding a new tectonic life-changing technology,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

His appointment as envoy to everywhere has shifted the paradigm, in plain sight.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

The result points to a potential new treatment target for the disease, which Macauley called "paradigm shifting."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

However, I do feel like, over generations, a paradigm was broken, and new sounds have been created that don’t necessarily abandon the roots of our music, but were created out of counterculture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

If you were born in the 1820s you were too old: your mindset was shaped by the pre-Civil War paradigm.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Higher energy costs, higher interest rates and shifting economic paradigms from the AI-investment cycle are creating both winners and losers that the credit markets struggle to discount adequately.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026

They are suggesting robot workforces will rise to outnumber human populations, godlike smartglasses will replace iPhones as new computer paradigms and AI data centers will expand to outer space.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

New content requires new forms, but AI is doing more than generating new material: It’s shattering old paradigms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025

"There has to be a change in paradigms that are at the foundation of how we run our society and the kinds of laws we create."

From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2025

What is striking about these intellectual tools and cultural values is that they have proved to have a history quite unlike that of paradigms.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton