phenomenology
noun
phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy
fi-ˌnä-mə-ˈnä-lə-jē 
plural phenomenologies
1
: the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as a preface to or a part of philosophy
2
a(1)
: a philosophical movement that describes the formal structure of the objects of awareness and of awareness itself in abstraction from any claims concerning existence
(2)
: the typological classification of a class of phenomena
the phenomenology of religion
b
: an analysis produced by phenomenological investigation
Examples of phenomenology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is a more specific phenomenology, yet to be charted, that exists solely in digital formats, where ghosting was, if not invented, perhaps perfected, allowing the ghoster to move from total accessibility to total inaccessibility in an instant.
—
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
These include artificial intelligence, biology, neurology, psychoanalysis, phenomenology, and even Buddhism.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
The phenomenology of evil may have been Dolan's biggest preoccupation.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
Searls seeks a reset, and finds it in phenomenology.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2024
Serra was less interested in the object itself than in tectonics and the phenomenology of space.
—Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2024
Psychedelic Experience - Revealing The Mind By Aidan Lyon
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, a philosopher of mind and metaphysics at the University of Exeter, in the U.K., agrees with Osmond that a trip should be defined by phenomenology, not pharmacology.
—Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2024
Studies that desire to reach A > 14 involve additional phenomenology and insightful theoretical approximations.
—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
So the real problem is about connecting mechanisms in the brain to these kinds of properties of phenomenology.
—Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 31 May 2023
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Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
These include artificial intelligence, biology, neurology, psychoanalysis, phenomenology, and even Buddhism.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
The phenomenology of evil may have been Dolan's biggest preoccupation.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
Searls seeks a reset, and finds it in phenomenology.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2024
Serra was less interested in the object itself than in tectonics and the phenomenology of space.
—Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2024
Psychedelic Experience - Revealing The Mind By Aidan Lyon
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, a philosopher of mind and metaphysics at the University of Exeter, in the U.K., agrees with Osmond that a trip should be defined by phenomenology, not pharmacology.
—Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2024
Studies that desire to reach A > 14 involve additional phenomenology and insightful theoretical approximations.
—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
So the real problem is about connecting mechanisms in the brain to these kinds of properties of phenomenology.
—Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 31 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Phenomenology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phenomenology. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
phenomenology
noun
phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy
fi-ˌnäm-ə-ˈnäl-ə-jē
plural phenomenologies
: the way in which one perceives and interprets events and one's relationship to them in contrast both to one's objective responses to stimuli and to any inferred unconscious motivation for one's behavior
also
: a psychology based on the theory that phenomenology determines behavior
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