emergent

adjective more emergent · most emergent

1. Emerging; coming into view or into existence; nascent; new.
2. Arising unexpectedly, especially if also calling for immediate reaction. The chief precepts of their priests enjoin the strict keeping of their Lents, which are at least seven months in every year, and are not to be dispensed with on the most emergent necessity. Letter 43
3. especially Constituting an emergency. Therefore, patients with ulcerative colitis should ideally be treated before they become emergent cases with toxic megacolon or perforation of the colon.
4. Taller than the surrounding vegetation.
5. of a water dwelling plant Having leaves and flowers above the water.
6. Having gameplay that arises from its mechanics, rather than a linear storyline. In short, emergent games are ones that allow a huge range of possibilities and don't dictate a strict, linear flow of events. A strategy game is emergent because so many units can interact and have some effect on each other.
7. That arises at a higher level than that of its components and is not explainable by the behaviour of said components taken individually; having properties as a whole that are more complex than the properties contributed by each of the components individually. an emergent property

Similar: ascending, emergent, emerging, forthcoming, inchoate, incipient, infant, immature, nascent, new, newly-formed, promising, raw, up-and-coming · Opposite: dying, moribund

noun emergents

1. A plant whose root system grows underwater, but whose shoot, leaves and flowers grow up and above the water.