epiphenomenalism
epi·phe·nom·e·nal·ism/ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɑ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/noun
epiphenomenalism is spelled E-P-I-P-H-E-N-O-M-E-N-A-L-I-S-M: 16 letters and 6 syllables (epi·phe·nom·e·nal·ism). It appears about once in every 76 million words in written English, the 275,970th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, epiphenomenalism means “The doctrine that consciousness, mental states and processes are simply by-products of physiological events in the brain or nervous system and cannot…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of epiphenomenalism is epiphenomenalisms.
How many letters and syllables are in epiphenomenalism?
| Letters | 16: E-P-I-P-H-E-N-O-M-E-N-A-L-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 6: epi·phe·nom·e·nal·ism |
| In writing | about once in every 76 million words; the 275,970th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is epiphenomenalism?
Epiphenomenalism appears about once in every 76 million words in written English, the 275,970th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce epiphenomenalism?
- UK /ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɒ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/
- US /ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɑ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/
Epiphenomenalism has 6 syllables, split epi·phe·nom·e·nal·ism in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-TranqyPoo-epiphenomenalism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with epiphenomenalism?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as epiphenomenalism from its last stressed vowel (/ɪzəm/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of epiphenomenalism
- epiphenomenalisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does epiphenomenalism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The doctrine that consciousness, mental states and processes are simply by-products of physiological events in the brain or nervous system and cannot themselves cause anything, whether material or immaterial.
In the eyes of epiphenomenalism, anger does not cause one to shout nor does grief cause one to cry; the feelings are by-products of the underlying physical causes and nothing more.
- 2
Such a doctrine, as advanced by a particular thinker or school of thought.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Epiphenomenalism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense doctrine:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Epiphänomenalismus |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.