Paradigm Meaning
/ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA pattern, a way of doing something; especially a pattern of thought, a system of beliefs, a conceptual framework.
nounAn example serving as the model for such a pattern; an exceptionally good or prototypical example of a pattern or group.
Sentence Examples
We need to postulate a completely different paradigm to explain all these phenomena.
A paradigm is something you think about before you think about it.
You just need time to adjust to the new paradigm.
CEFR Practice Quiz
This new scientific theory provides a ____ for understanding complex human behavior.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The invention of the internet represented a fundamental ____ shift in how people communicate and access information.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English paradygme, from Late Latin paradīgma, from Ancient Greek παράδειγμα (parádeigma, “pattern”), from παραδείκνυμι (paradeíknumi, “I show [beside] or compare”) + -μα (-ma, suffix forming nouns concerning the results of actions). Doublet of paradigma.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"At times, the assimilationist paradigm has facilitated the physical dispossession of Native lands and the suppression or eradication of Native institutions, culture, and identity by the political branches of the federal government."
— 2024 September 30, Michael Doran, “EXCEPTIONALISM AND ASSIMILATIONISM IN FEDERAL INDIAN LAW”, in Stanford Law School, volume 20, number 2, page 267, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2025:
"According to the Fourth Circuit, “Coca-Cola” is “the paradigm of a descriptive mark that has acquired secondary meaning”."
— 2000, Estate of William F. Jenkins v. Paramount Pictures Corp.:
"DRT is a paradigm example of a dynamic semantic theory, […]"
— 2003, Nicholas Asher, Alex Lascarides, Logics of Conversation, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 46:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
This new scientific theory provides a ____ for understanding complex human behavior.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The invention of the internet represented a fundamental ____ shift in how people communicate and access information.