microcosm

noun

mi·cro·cosm ˈmī-krə-ˌkä-zəm

Synonyms of microcosm next

: a little world

especially : the human race or human nature seen as an epitome (see epitome sense 1) of the world or the universe

: a community or other unity that is an epitome (see epitome sense 2) of a larger unity

The suburb has been the microcosm of the city.

microcosmic

ˌmī-krə-ˈkäz-mik

adjective

microcosmically

ˌmī-krə-ˈkäz-mi-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Phrases

in microcosm

: in a greatly diminished size, form, or scale

Did you know?

Small wonder that the oldest meaning of microcosm in our dictionary is “little world”: the word comes ultimately from the Greek phrase mikros kosmos, meaning “little universe.” That meaning can be applied to many a wee realm, as in “the microcosm of the atom,” but microcosm was originally used by medieval scholars specifically to refer to humans as miniature embodiments of the natural universe. Microcosm soon expanded to refer to places (such as neighborhoods or other communities) thought to embody at a small scale characteristics of larger places, and later to anything serving as an apt representation of something bigger—as when Arthur C. Clarke, famed author of much fiction and nonfiction set in the cosmos, noted that “a sunken ship is a microcosm of the civilization that launched it.”

Examples of microcosm in a Sentence

The village is a microcosm of the whole country. The game was a microcosm of the entire season.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The moment between the head coach and the team’s No. 2 pass catcher was a microcosm of Sirianni’s relationship with his players. —

Ben Morse, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025 But by the same token, Connelly’s limp, cowering response was a microcosm of years of Democratic failure to meet the moment. —

Samantha Riedel, Them, 7 Feb. 2025 Her situation is a microcosm of the uncertainty sweeping through the federal government, which is the country’s single largest employer. —

Chris Megerian, TIME, 6 Feb. 2025 The subway, Lieber keeps saying, is a microcosm of the city. —

Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for microcosm