Epiphany Meaning
/ɪˈpɪfəni/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn illuminating realization or discovery, often resulting in a personal feeling of elation, awe, or wonder.
nounA manifestation or appearance of a divine or superhuman being.
Sentence Examples
This is the epiphany I've been waiting for!
The Epiphany marks the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had an ____ and suddenly understood the complex equation.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Suddenly, he had an ____ and figured out the solution to the complex problem.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English epiphanie, from Old French epyphanie, from Late Latin epiphania, from Ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia, “manifestation, striking appearance”), from ἐπιφαίνω (epiphaínō, “I appear, display”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “upon”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I shine, appear”). English Epiphany (of Christ) since the 14th century, generic use since the 17th century.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Instead of examining institutions and classes, structures of economic production and social control, one had to think about “moments”—moments of love, hate, poetry, frustration, action, surrender, delight, humiliation, justice, cruelty, resignation, surprise, disgust, resentment, self-loathing, pity, fury, peace of mind—those tiny epiphanies, Lefebvre said, in which the absolute possibilities and temporal limits of anyone's existence were revealed."
— 1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:
"But after spending most of my pocket money to get those developed, I had an epiphany: I was never going to be a professional photographer. My pictures were god-awful. I put the camera away."
— 2013, Chris Hadfield, chapter 11, in An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:
"Between the gaps, I was swimming laps / Got close to some epiphany / I'll convince a friend to join deep ends / Have your toes touch the lack of cement"
— 2021, “Amoeba”, performed by Clairo:
"The logic of the standard biography—a formative event leads to an epiphany that creates the great man—doesn’t quite work when the greatness doesn’t have much to do with the man at all."
— 2023 May 9, Jay Caspian Kang, “Tony Hsieh and the Emptiness of the Tech-Mogul Myth”, in The New Yorker:
"The ithyphallic bird-man is the climactic, ecstatic, instantaneous male principle confronting the enormous, slow, bovine, and enduring principle of the eternal feminine in her epiphany as the bison."
— 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 129:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had an ____ and suddenly understood the complex equation.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Suddenly, he had an ____ and figured out the solution to the complex problem.