Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development: "He sees the auto industry as a microcosm of the U.S. itself” ( William J. Hampton).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A little world or cosmos; the world in miniature; something representing or assumed to represent the principle of universality: often applied to man regarded as an epitome, physically and morally, of the universe or great world (the macrocosm).
- n. A little community or society.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A little world; a miniature universe. Hence (so called by Paracelsus), a man, as a supposed epitome of the exterior universe or great world. Opposed to
macrocosm . - n. A relatively small object or system considered as representative of a larger system of which it is part, exhibiting many features of the complete system.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a miniature model of something
Etymologies
- From French microcosme, from Latin microcosmus, from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, "small") + κόσμος (kosmos, "world"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English microcosme, man as a little world, from Old French, from Late Latin mīcrocosmus, from Greek mīkros kosmos : mīkros, small + kosmos, world, order. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The Finnish pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010 portrays our country in microcosm, presenting both Finland and its society to the world.”
“It was, in microcosm, an illustration of the success, and burden of the success of managing AIDS as a chronic disease in sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Huffington Post: Ray Suarez: Reporter's Notebook: A Clinic's Strains in Mozambique
“These two developments, I submit, signpost in microcosm a road to a future that is survivable, sane, and sustainable.”
The Huffington Post: Jeremy Leggett: The Singular Genius of a Simple Solar Lantern
“Want the messiness of human life and understanding in microcosm?”
“And it's the cosmos in microcosm, of course – another advantage.”
The Guardian: Poem of the week: What mystery pervades a well! by Emily Dickinson
“The states themselves are free trade zones in microcosm, and the less prosperous communities in states often catch up relative to the more prosperous ones.”
Extreme Free Trade, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“It's unfortunate because Vermont can be treated as American society in microcosm in certain aspects.”
“The fourteenth century had a lot going on throughout Europe, and what makes World Without End an incredible novel is that Follett uses the monumental and catastrophic events in microcosm focused through a couple of small towns in England.”
“World Without End” by Ken Follett (Dutton, 2007) « The BookBanter Blog
“If there is one work that contains, in microcosm, both the Zola and Céline influences, it is”
“In many ways this race refelcts the state in microcosm, Charlottesville/Albemarle is Northern Virginia and the southside is Central Virginia (without Chalottesville).”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘microcosm’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
zealot, wistful, welter, wary, whimsical, warranted, vortex, vivisection, volatile, vitiate, viscous, visage and 787 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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random
good words that i think of at random times.
billow, microcosm, inertia, ecstatic, zesty, secure, amicable, tedious, free, nostalgia, halo, clean and 12 more...
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cosmo-, cosm-
of or relating to the world or universe
cosmography, cosmology, cosmologist, cosmopolitan, cosmonaut, cosmopolite, cosmogonic, cosmographer, cosmogony, cosmodrome, cosmographic, cosmogenic and 32 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Ends in "-sm" but isn't an "ism"
pleonasm, prism, schism, orgasm, spasm, iconoclasm, chasm, enthusiasm, phantasm, ectoplasm, cytoplasm, aneurysm and 55 more...
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micro-, micr-
small; reduced; one millionth
microfarad, micromini, microprocessor, microfilm, microfiche, microbarograph, microcephalic, microscope, microgram, microchemistry, microcosm
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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inquiryqueue's list
words delicious to pronounce
apostrophe, asphodel, anemone, cantaloupe, cantalevered, cardamom, coriander, petrichor, sycamore, luminous, tendril, peculiar and 122 more...
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Words I Should Use More Often
Words that I'll use to sound erudite.
fungible, aggrandizement, tete-a-tete, sententious, serendipitous, fortuitous, lugubrious, declivity, propitiatory, volubility, august, tenebrous and 214 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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Hitch Words
Words from the lexicon of Christopher Hitchens
propinquity, fratricide, factitious, vitiate, sectarianism, ostensible, atavistic, sephardic, doyen, palpable, encephalitic, fastidious and 188 more...
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words that trip off the tongue
ideology, phallocentric, parapraxis, gelid, illusion, tangible, tangibility, crux, medusa, noir, chloroform, chap and 98 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for microcosm.
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