# emergent

/ˈimɝdʒənt/ (US) · /ɪmˈɜːdʒənt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/emergent
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. starting to appear

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic · Formal

starting to exist or becoming known for the first time.

For teachers: in the process of coming into being or becoming prominent; nascent.

- The government is watching the emergent markets in Southeast Asia very closely.
- The report highlights emergent trends in consumer behaviour that suggest a shift toward sustainable luxury goods.

Usage: Commonly used in business and sociology to describe new patterns or markets.

### 2. complex systems

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical · Academic

describing a quality that a whole group has, which the individual parts do not have on their own.

For teachers: relating to properties of a system that arise from the interaction of its parts but are not present in the parts themselves.

- The way a flock of birds moves together is an emergent behaviour.
- Consciousness is often described by neuroscientists as an emergent property of the brain's complex neural networks.

Usage: Frequently used in philosophy, biology, and computer science.

### 3. botany

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical

describing plants that grow taller than the trees around them or above the surface of the water.

For teachers: rising above the surrounding vegetation or the surface of a body of water.

- The emergent trees in the rainforest can reach heights of sixty metres.
- We studied emergent aquatic plants that provide essential nesting sites for local bird species.

Usage: Used specifically in ecology to describe the highest layer of a forest or water plants.

### 4. a type of plant

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a plant that has its roots under the water but its leaves and flowers above the water.

For teachers: a plant whose root system is typically submerged while its upper parts extend above the water's surface.

- The pond was filled with lilies and other emergents.
- The restoration project focused on reintroducing native emergents to stabilize the riverbank and improve water quality.

## Examples

- The emergent technology could change how we use the internet.
- The study focuses on emergent patterns of social behaviour that appear when large groups of people use the same app.
- In biological systems, consciousness is often viewed as an emergent property of complex neural networks rather than a characteristic of individual neurons.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.