paradigm

/ˈpærədaɪm/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpærədaɪm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈper-ə-ˌdīm ˈpa-rə- also -ˌdim/ (ame, mw)

paradigm — noun

1. a person, thing, or event that stands out as such a clear case of some quality o

1.名詞C1
釋義

a person, thing, or event that stands out as such a clear case of some quality or kind that other cases can be measured against it — for example, calling Steve Jobs a paradigm of design-led leadership, or pointing to Tokyo as a paradigm of how a busy city can still feel safe.

例句

Many architects treat the new Helsinki library as a paradigm of public-friendly design.

a paradigm of [admired quality]

Coach Mendes is held up as a paradigm for young football managers in South America.

a paradigm for [group of learners]

同義詞
  • model

    everyday word; less formal and less academic-sounding

  • exemplar

    very formal; emphasises being a perfect specimen worth copying

  • archetype

    stresses being the original pattern from which later versions descend

  • epitome

    stresses being the purest concentration of a single quality

文法句型

a paradigm of [quality]

a paradigm for [activity/group]

用法筆記

Subject is usually a person, place, work, or organisation that observers single out as outstanding. Almost always followed by 'of' (the quality) or 'for' (the people who should learn from it); rarely used with a bare object. Distinguish from sense 2 — this sense names a real-world example that others copy, while sense 2 names a whole way of thinking.

常見錯誤

❌She is a paradigm.
✅She is a paradigm of patience.
💡'paradigm' almost always needs 'of + quality' to say what makes the example notable.
❌This phone is a paradigm to the new ones.
✅This phone is a paradigm for the new ones.
💡use 'for' before the group that takes the example, not 'to'.

2. the whole set of ideas, methods, and basic beliefs that researchers, teachers, o

2.名詞C1
釋義

the whole set of ideas, methods, and basic beliefs that researchers, teachers, or a profession share at a certain time, and that quietly shapes which questions feel sensible to ask and which answers feel acceptable — like the long period when scientists assumed the Earth sat at the centre of the universe.

例句

Einstein's theory of relativity overturned the old paradigm in physics.

overturn / replace + the [field] paradigm

Many teachers say remote learning has forced a paradigm shift in how schools measure progress.

fixed phrase: paradigm shift

同義詞
  • framework

    more neutral; a structure of ideas without the 'shared by a whole field' weight

  • worldview

    broader; covers personal beliefs as well as scientific ones

  • model

    lighter and more concrete; can refer to a single theory, not a whole school of thought

  • school of thought

    stresses the group of people who hold the view, not the ideas themselves

文法句型

a paradigm of [field]

a [adjective] paradigm

shift in paradigm

用法筆記

Strongly associated with the fixed collocation 'paradigm shift' (a sudden, deep change in how a field thinks). Subject is typically a discipline, industry, or community of experts, not an individual. Distinguish from sense 1 — sense 2 refers to a shared mental framework, not a single outstanding example. In business writing the word can sound buzzword-heavy; use sparingly.

常見錯誤

❌There has been a paradigm change in education.
✅There has been a paradigm shift in education.
💡the standard collocation is 'paradigm shift', not 'paradigm change'.
❌My personal paradigm of cooking is very simple.
✅My personal approach to cooking is very simple.
💡'paradigm' refers to a whole field's thinking, not one person's habits.

3. in grammar study, the full table of related shapes that one word takes when it c

3.名詞C2
釋義

in grammar study, the full table of related shapes that one word takes when it changes for tense, number, person, or case — for example, the Latin verb 'amare' laid out as 'amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant', or English 'go' shown as 'go, goes, going, went, gone'.

例句

The textbook prints the full paradigm of the Latin verb 'amare' on a single page.

the paradigm of [a specific word]

Professor Sato asked the class to copy out the paradigm of three Russian nouns.

the paradigm of [noun/verb]

同義詞
  • inflection table

    plain teaching term; what most modern coursebooks actually print

  • conjugation

    specific to verbs; the act or table of changing a verb's endings

  • declension

    specific to nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in case-marked languages

文法句型

the paradigm of [a word]

a verb / noun paradigm

用法筆記

Used almost only in language teaching, grammar reference books, and linguistic research. Object is usually a single word (the word being inflected) or a word class (verbs, nouns). Distinguish from senses 1 and 2 — this sense is purely technical and refers to the table of forms, not a model or a school of thought.

常見錯誤

❌The paradigm of English grammar is hard.
✅English grammar is hard.
💡in the linguistics sense, 'paradigm' is the table of one word's forms, not the grammar of a whole language.
❌Please learn the paradigms about French verbs.
✅Please learn the paradigms of French verbs.
💡use 'of' before the inflected word, not 'about'.