English Reference

Word

paradigm

Phoneticspar·a·digm

US/ˈpɛɹəˌdaɪm/

UK/pˈæɹədˌaɪm/

Definitions

01a way of thinking

C1

n. a set of ideas or a way of looking at the world that influences how people do things.

n. a conceptual framework or world view that shapes the theories and methods of a particular discipline.

“The discovery of DNA created a new paradigm in the field of biology.”

“The shift toward renewable energy represents a fundamental paradigm change in how industrial societies perceive resource consumption and environmental responsibility.”

Academic

02a perfect example

C1

n. a very clear or typical example of something.

n. a prototypical example or model that serves as a standard for a specific category.

“The company is often seen as the paradigm of modern successful business.”

“His early architectural works are frequently cited as the paradigm of minimalist design, influencing a generation of urban planners.”

Formal

Synonyms

03word forms

C2 · Linguistics

n. a list of all the different forms of a word, such as 'walk', 'walks', and 'walking'.

n. the complete set of related inflectional forms of a lexeme, typically presented in a table.

“The teacher asked us to write out the full paradigm for the Latin verb.”

“In highly inflected languages, a single noun paradigm may include dozens of distinct forms to indicate case, number, and gender.”

Technical

Usage

Usually refers to a table or list of grammatical forms.

Synonyms

Real-World Examples

“Last week, a researcher outlined what he said was a “novel attack surface” in passkeys, the new authentication paradigm that offers a more secure alternative to password-based methods.”
Ars Technica · 11 Aug 2026
“Space Force photo by Gwendolyn Kurzen SpaceX has changed the launch vehicle paradigm by reusing rockets, which has made launches more affordable .”
The Conversation · 5 Aug 2026

Etymology

From Middle English paradygme, from Late Latin paradīgma, from Ancient Greek παράδειγμα (parádeigma, “pattern”), from παραδείκνυμι (paradeíknumi, “I show [beside] or compare”) + -μα (-ma, suffix forming nouns concerning the results of actions). Doublet of paradigma.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Collocations

different paradigmnew paradigmparadigm shift

Domain

Linguistics

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

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