emergent
emergent — adjective
- emergentpositive
- more emergentcomparative
- most emergentsuperlative
1. beginning to form, appear, or be noticed, and still in an early stage of develop
beginning to form, appear, or be noticed, and still in an early stage of development.
Several emergent tech companies opened new offices in Nairobi over the past two years.
emergent + plural noun: emergent companies / emergent industries
Anjali studies emergent diseases that have only recently appeared in tropical regions.
The report tracks emergent trends in online shopping among teenagers across Seoul.
An emergent middle class slowly began to reshape the small coastal town's economy.
Scientists in Lagos are watching an emergent strain of the virus spread quickly.
- established
already well developed and widely accepted
- mature
fully grown or fully developed
用法筆記
Almost always used before a noun (an emergent technology, emergent markets) and rarely after 'be'. Common in business, science, and politics writing.
常見錯誤
2. (of a tree or plant) growing higher than the others nearby, so that its top stan
(of a tree or plant) growing higher than the others nearby, so that its top stands above the rest.
In the rainforest, emergent trees rise far above the thick green canopy below.
describing trees taller than the surrounding canopy
A single emergent oak towered over the younger trees around the village pond.
Botanists measured the emergent kapok, which stood thirty metres above its neighbours.
These emergent palms catch the most sunlight because nothing nearby grows as high.
- towering
plainer everyday word for very tall, without the ecology meaning
- overtopping
technical; growing up past the plants around it
- understorey
the layer of shorter plants growing below the tallest trees
用法筆記
Used before a noun, mainly in ecology and forestry; the related phrase 'the emergent layer' names the tallest trees that break through a rainforest canopy.
3. (of a water plant) having its roots below the surface while its flowers and leav
(of a water plant) having its roots below the surface while its flowers and leaves rise into the air above it.
Emergent reeds line the edge of the lake, their tips swaying in the wind.
emergent water plants: reeds, lilies, cattails
The pond's emergent plants give frogs a dry place to rest above the water.
Camille photographed the emergent lilies whose flowers opened just above the still pond.
Tall emergent grasses hid the nesting ducks along the muddy riverbank.
- aquatic
broader; any water plant, not only those whose tops rise above the surface
用法筆記
A technical botany term for water plants; distinguish from sense 2, which describes land trees rising above a forest rather than plants rising above water.
4. (of a quality or behaviour) that comes from how a system's many parts act togeth
(of a quality or behaviour) that comes from how a system's many parts act together, not from any one part by itself.
Consciousness may be an emergent property of billions of nerve cells working together.
emergent property / behaviour of a complex system
Traffic jams are an emergent effect of many drivers all making small choices.
The flock's shifting shape is emergent, not planned by any single bird.
Engineers found that the robot's odd behaviour was emergent, arising from simple rules.
- arising
plainer; does not stress that the quality comes from the whole system
- reducible
fully explainable from the separate parts on their own
用法筆記
Collocates strongly with 'property', 'behaviour', and 'phenomenon', and is used both before a noun and after 'be'. Central to science, philosophy, and computing.
5. needing fast medical care or other action right away because of a sudden serious
needing fast medical care or other action right away because of a sudden serious situation.
The American hospital sent the bleeding patient straight to the emergent care unit.
American medical use: emergent care / emergent surgery
Doctors classed the crash victim's injuries as emergent and operated within minutes.
An emergent case of heart failure pushed the routine appointments back an hour.
Selim, a paramedic in Chicago, treats emergent cases almost every single night.
用法筆記
Chiefly North American and medical, contrasting with 'elective' (planned) care; outside that field, British and general English prefer 'emergency' as the modifier.
常見錯誤
emergent — noun
1. a thing that is just beginning to appear, form, or develop.
a thing that is just beginning to appear, form, or develop.
Tech reporters love spotting the next emergent before the rest of the market does.
countable noun: an emergent = a newly appearing thing
Among the city's many start-ups, the investors backed only the strongest emergents.
Historians often call the printing press an emergent that slowly reshaped all of Europe.
Every great industry was once an emergent that older companies chose to ignore.
- incumbent
the established player already holding the position
用法筆記
A general countable use meaning a newly appearing thing; far rarer than the adjective, and mostly found in business, technology, and academic writing.
2. a tree whose crown grows higher than the main level of the forest around it.
a tree whose crown grows higher than the main level of the forest around it.
From the canopy walkway, Hari counted five emergents rising above the rainforest.
ecology: an emergent = a tree rising above the canopy
The tallest emergent in the reserve gives eagles a clear view across the valley.
Loggers had already cut down most of the ancient emergents near the river.
Each emergent towers over the canopy, catching wind and sunlight the lower trees miss.
- overstorey
the top layer of the tallest trees, taken as a whole
- understorey
the shorter trees and plants growing beneath the tallest ones
用法筆記
An ecology term for a single tree that breaks above the forest canopy; distinguish from sense 3, which is a water plant rather than a forest tree.
3. a marsh or pond plant that is rooted underwater but holds its stems and leaves a
a marsh or pond plant that is rooted underwater but holds its stems and leaves above the surface.
Ducks build their nests among the emergents at the shallow end of the lake.
botany: an emergent = a plant rising out of the water
The biologist counted dozens of emergents poking through the calm marsh water.
Reeds and cattails are the most common emergents around the quiet village pond.
Kwame waded out to collect an emergent whose white flowers floated above the surface.
- helophyte
technical botany term for a marsh plant rooted under water
- submergent
a plant that stays entirely below the water surface
用法筆記
A botany term for a marsh or pond plant rooted under water with its top in the air; distinguish from sense 2, the forest tree.