Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

phenomenon

/fəˈnɑ.məˌnɑn/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.13 in modern English

Syllables: phe-no-me-non
IPA: /fəˈnɑ.məˌnɑn/

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A thing or being, event or process, perceptible through senses; or a fact or occurrence thereof.

noun

A knowable thing or event (e.g. by inference, especially in science).

noun

A kind or type of phenomenon (sense 1 or 2).

noun

Appearance; a perceptible aspect of something that is mutable.

noun

A fact or event considered very unusual, curious, or astonishing by those who witness it.

noun

A wonderful or very remarkable person or thing.

noun

An experienced object whose constitution reflects the order and conceptual structure imposed upon it by the human mind (especially by the powers of perception and understanding).

Example Sentences

"The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten."
"The Indians, making a hasty inference from a trivial phenomenon, arrived unawares at a probably correct conclusion."
"In the sense in which we are using the term, the intellectuals are in fact a fairly new phenomenon of history."
"It is important to note the differences between hurricanes and earthquakes — hurricanes are a meteorological phenomenon while earthquakes are geological. Both hurricanes and earthquakes can produce damage by flooding of coastal areas, but a hurricane's storm surge and a tsunami associated with an earthquake are entirely different phenomena."
"An electromagnetic phenomenon."
"A volcanic eruption is an impressive phenomenon."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō) Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon)bor. Late Latin phaenomenonder. English phenomenon From Late Latin phaenomenon (“appearance”), from Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon, “thing appearing to view”), neuter present middle participle of φαίνω (phaínō, “I show”).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: phaenomenon, φαινόμενον

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /fəˈnɑ.məˌnɑn/
British English: /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/

Inflected Forms

phenomena (plural) phenomenons (plural, proscribed) phaenomenon (alternative, archaic) phænomenon (alternative, archaic) phainomenon (alternative, archaic) phœnomenon (alternative, hypercorrect)

Derived Forms

coprophenomenon echophenomenon epiphenomenon Kamalanomenon macrophenomenon metaphenomenon microphenomenon nanophenomenon phenom phenomenal phenomenalism phenomenalistic

Phrases

Baader-Meinhof phenomenon Bezold-Brücke phenomenon doorknob phenomenon Ferranti phenomenon fis phenomenon Gibbs phenomenon Holmes rebound phenomenon impostor phenomenon

Frequently Paired Words

-phane phene pheno- phenotype

Synonyms

event marvel miracle oddity wonder legend phenom prodigy

Antonyms

noumenon thing-in-itself

Rhymes With

hapax legomenon

Questions

How do you pronounce phenomenon?: The recorded pronunciation is /fəˈnɑ.məˌnɑn/.
What does phenomenon mean?: A thing or being, event or process, perceptible through senses; or a fact or occurrence thereof.
Where does phenomenon come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce phenomenon

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “phenomenon”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fəˈnɑ.məˌnɑn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “phenomenon”.
Repeat and practice — Say “phenomenon” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.