Meaning & use
emerging
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Just starting to develop, grow or become known.
Grammar: Goes before a noun: an emerging market.
Patterns
- an emerging trend
- an emerging market
- an emerging artist
Emerging markets attracted many investors last year.
She is an emerging talent in the fashion world.
Emerging technologies are changing how we work.
adjectivebefore a noun
Coming out of something or becoming visible after being hidden.
Grammar: Often describes physical or abstract appearance.
Patterns
- an emerging pattern
The emerging butterfly dried its wings on a leaf.
An emerging pattern in the data surprised the scientists.
Emerging details of the story worried the public.
Common combinations
- emerging markets
- Emerging markets grow faster than older economies.
- an emerging trend
- Remote work is an emerging trend in small towns.
- emerging technology
- Emerging technology often begins as a niche tool.
- emerging artists
- The gallery supports emerging artists.
- emerging threat
- Officials are watching an emerging threat closely.
Synonyms and how they differ
- developing
- Developing is broader and may describe slow, long-term growth, whereas emerging stresses newly appearing.
- budding
- Budding is more informal and suggests early promise, usually for a person with talent.
- nascent
- Nascent is more formal and means only just coming into existence.
- upcoming
- Upcoming focuses on being expected soon, not on growing or appearing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: emerging or merging?
emerging vs merging
Merging means joining together, and emerging means coming out or appearing.
Practice
Investors are excited about the ___ markets of Southeast Asia.
Choose one answer.
Emerging markets is the standard phrase for economies that are starting to grow. Emerged is a past form and emergency is a different noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “emerging”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.