Definition of "paradigm" []

• One that serves as a pattern or model. (noun)
• A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb. (noun)
• A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term "paradigm shift" is bandied around with promiscuous ease."
• "Now, the term paradigm shift is used to suggest the groundbreaking importance of statements such as this:"
• "Now, I think that people become angered by paradigm shifts or angered by even hearing the term paradigm shift."