paradigm
/ˈpæɹ.ə.dɑem/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A pattern, a way of doing something; especially a pattern of thought, a system of beliefs, a conceptual framework.
noun
An example serving as the model for such a pattern; an exceptionally good or prototypical example of a pattern or group.
noun
A set of all forms which contain a common element, especially the set of all inflectional forms of a word or a particular grammatical category.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: style, model, worldview"
- "Thomas Kuhn's landmark “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” got people talking about paradigm shifts, to the point the word itself now suggests an incomplete or biased perspective."
- "At times, the assimilationist paradigm has facilitated the physical dispossession of Native lands and the suppression or eradication of Native institutions, culture, and identity by the political branches of the federal government."
- "Near-synonyms: template, exemplar, archetype, poster child; see also Thesaurus:exemplar, Thesaurus:model"
- "According to the Fourth Circuit, “Coca-Cola” is “the paradigm of a descriptive mark that has acquired secondary meaning”."
- "DRT is a paradigm example of a dynamic semantic theory, […]"
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *deyḱ-, paradygme, paradīgma, παράδειγμα
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpæɹ.ə.dɑem/
- British English: /ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/