From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishphenomenonphe‧nom‧e‧non /fɪˈnɒmənən $ fɪˈnɑːmənɑːn, -nən/ ●●○ W3 AWL noun (plural phenomena /-nə/) [countable] 1 HAPPENsomething that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially something that is studied because it is difficult to understandphenomenon of the growing phenomenon of telecommuting Homelessness is not a new phenomenon.natural/historical/social etc phenomenon Language is a social and cultural phenomenon.► see thesaurus at event2 UNUSUALsomething or someone that is very unusual because of a rare quality or ability that they haveCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesa new phenomenonThe idea that we may be able to live forever is is not a new phenomenon.a recent phenomenonDetailed food labelling is a fairly recent phenomenon.a common phenomenonCloudy water is a common phenomenon in new aquariums.a rare phenomenonPlanes have occasionally disappeared in midair, but this is a rare phenomenon.a strange phenomenonWhat could explain this strange phenomenon?a natural phenomenon (=one that happens in nature)Natural phenomena such as the appearance of comets intrigued him.a social/cultural etc phenomenonCrime is a complex social phenomenon.supernatural/paranormal phenomena (=ones that appear to be against the laws of nature)Ghosts are one example of paranormal phenomena.psychic phenomena (=relating to the power of the human mind to do strange things)psychic phenomena such as telepathy
Examples from the Corpus
phenomenon• Still walking five miles a day at the age of 95, the woman was an absolute phenomenon.• He is yet another phenomenon of questionable tangibility to emerge from the twelfth century.• the increasing phenomenon of the single parent family• Then an interesting phenomenon takes place: they become a safety valve.• Is it an illusion to imagine that this is a merely modern phenomenon? he wrote.• A new phenomenon is identified in some prisons.• Industrial ReD in the public sector is a relatively new phenomenon and the expectations from it are not very clear.• In dealing with this new phenomenon, I have two points to make.• The cell phone is a relatively recent phenomenon. It's difficult at the moment to assess its effects.• The same phenomenon was observed in New York.• We now know that our system of planets orbiting the sun is not a unique phenomenon.phenomenon of• the phenomenon of international terrorismOrigin phenomenon (1500-1600) Late Latin Greek phainomenon, from phainein “to show” 