Meanings
nounemergence (countable and uncountable, plural emergences)
plural emergences
- countableuncountableThe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view; appearance.
Some birds do indeed sing through the night of all we can remember, temperature gaugings at the site of our earliest emergence revealing that all was cool then
1986, Brad Johnson, “Coming of Age”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 19- countableuncountableThe arising of emergent structure in complex systems.
- countableobsoleteuncountableAn emergency.
In this dire emergence, the Marquis de Torcy, minister for foreign affairs, offered his services.
1790, Charles Hamilton, Transactions During the Reign of Queen Anne1 more example
I[…]had recourse to an English Merchant, Mr Gregory, long settled at Dunkirk, to whom, happily, I had been recommended, as to a person capable, in any emergence, to afford me assistance.
1812, Frances Burney, Journals and Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 452 - countableuncountablebiologyAn outgrowth from the surface, such as a prickle or wart, differing from hairs in arising from more than the superficial cells, and from spines in arising from a few layers only.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe act of coming (or going) out; becoming apparent
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic انبثاق
- انبثاقthe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Bulgarian поява, изплуване
- поява (pojava)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- изплуване (izpluvane)the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- появяване (pojavjavane)the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Catalan propietats emergents, emergència
- propietats emergentsthe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- emergènciathe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Chinese Mandarin 湧現 /涌现, 出現 /出现
- 湧現 /涌现 (chūxiàn)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- 出現 /出现 (chūxiàn)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- 突現 /突现 (tūxiàn)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Czech emergence, vynoření
- emergencethe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- vynořeníthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- vznikthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Dutch emergentie, opkomst
- emergentiethe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- opkomstthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Finnish emergenssi, ilmaantuminen
- emergenssithe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- ilmaantuminenthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- esille tuleminenthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- ilmestyminenthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- pilkahtaminenthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
French émergence, émergence
- émergencethe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- émergencethe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
German Emergenz
- Emergenzthe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Italian emergenza
- emergenzathe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Japanese 創発
- 創発 (sōhatsu)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Latin ēmergentia
- ēmergentiathe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Norwegian emergens
- emergensthe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Polish emergencja
- emergencjathe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Portuguese emergência
- emergênciathe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Russian появле́ние, возникнове́ние
- появле́ние (pojavlénije)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- возникнове́ние (vozniknovénije)the arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- всплыва́ние (vsplyvánije)the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- всплы́тие (vsplýtije)the act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Slovak emergencia
- emergenciathe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
Spanish emergencia, emersión
- emergenciathe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- emersiónthe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- surgimientothe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
- emersiónthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Swedish emergens, uppdykande
- emergensthe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- uppdykandethe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Turkish belirme, zuhur
- belirmethe arising of emergent structure in complex systems
- zuhurthe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with emergence
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
emergence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emergence
MLA
“emergence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emergence. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “emergence,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emergence.
Source: emergence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.