noumenon

[ noo-muh-non ]
See synonyms for noumenon on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural nou·me·na [noo-muh-nuh]. /ˈnu mə nə/.
  1. the object, itself inaccessible to experience, to which a phenomenon is referred for the basis or cause of its sense content.

  2. a thing in itself, as distinguished from a phenomenon or thing as it appears.

  1. Kantianism. something that can be the object only of a purely intellectual, nonsensuous intuition.

Origin of noumenon

1
1790–1800; <Greek nooúmenon a thing being perceived, noun use of neuter of present participle passive of noeîn to perceive; akin to nous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use noumenon in a sentence

  • There is the world of appearance (phenomena), and there is the world of reality or substance (noumena).

    Theism or Atheism | Chapman Cohen
  • The various awe-compelling phenomena soon ceased to have any connection with the anthropomorphic noumena they had begotten.

    The Soul of the Far East | Percival Lowell
  • All are agreed that to know things per se—noumena—we must know them through some other channel then experience.

    Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers | Charles Bradlaugh, A. Collins, and J. Watts
  • But it is a doctrine of our author that these laws are true, and cannot but be known to be true, of Noumena likewise.

  • But Mr. Mill, as we have seen before, is not much at home when he gets among “noumena.”

British Dictionary definitions for noumenon

noumenon

/ (ˈnuːmɪnən, ˈnaʊ-) /


nounplural -na (-nə)
  1. (in the philosophy of Kant) a thing as it is in itself, not perceived or interpreted, incapable of being known, but only inferred from the nature of experience: Compare phenomenon (def. 3) See also thing-in-itself

  2. the object of a purely intellectual intuition

Origin of noumenon

1
C18: via German from Greek: thing being thought of, from noein to think, perceive; related to nous mind

Derived forms of noumenon

  • noumenal, adjective
  • noumenalism, noun
  • noumenalist, noun, adjective
  • noumenality, noun
  • noumenally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012