Darwinism
the Darwinian theory that species originate by descent, with variation, from parent forms, through the natural selection of those individuals best adapted for the reproductive success of their kind.
Origin of Darwinism
1Other words from Darwinism
- Dar·win·ist, Dar·win·ite [dahr-wuh-nahyt], /ˈdɑr wəˌnaɪt/, noun, adjective
- Dar·win·is·tic, adjective
- an·ti-Dar·win·ism, noun
- an·ti-Dar·win·ist, noun, adjective
- pro-Dar·win·ism, noun
Words Nearby Darwinism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Darwinism in a sentence
The scientific consensus around Darwinism was representative of larger cultural trends that worried conservatives.
Steeped in social Darwinism, Mellon viewed the acquisition of wealth as a mark of merit and poverty as a failure of character.
The Great Inheritors: How Three Families Shielded Their Fortunes From Taxes for Generations | by Patricia Callahan, James Bandler, Justin Elliott, Doris Burke and Jeff Ernsthausen | December 15, 2021 | ProPublicaA prediction for the date of the president's ouster, a lawsuit against Darwinism and other terrific ideas from America's fringe.
Fringe Factor: Halt Teen Pregnancy Without Birth Control | Caitlin Dickson | September 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut in our past there has been another term for it - Social Darwinism, every man and woman for him or herself.
Time for Obama to Admit He Was Wrong and Start Fixing the Economy | Stuart Stevens | July 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTOur Constitution, Holmes famously wrote, does not enact social Darwinism.
Impeach the Supreme Court Justices If They Overturn Health-Care Law | David R. Dow | April 3, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
He is a not just a grinning creationist, he is also willing to disdain Darwinism with a sinister pugnacity.
At a time when Darwinism was bringing a sword into the intellectual world, he lived apparently uninterested and untouched by it.
The Life of Mazzini | Bolton KingOnly the other day I read in my newspaper the triumphant proclamation of some clergyman that "Darwinism" had been overthrown.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society | Upton SinclairAmong these are several on anthropology, on political economy, and even on Darwinism.
One of the speakers, a clergyman, said that Darwinism and infidelity were responsible for criminal driving.
Morality Without God | M. M. MangasarianHe thinks that if he can prove that the evolutionists kill people, he will have disproved Darwinism.
Morality Without God | M. M. Mangasarian
British Dictionary definitions for Darwinism
Darwinian theory
/ (ˈdɑːwɪˌnɪzəm) /
the theory of the origin of animal and plant species by evolution through a process of natural selection: Compare Lamarckism See also Neo-Darwinism
Derived forms of Darwinism
- Darwinist or Darwinite, noun, adjective
- Darwinistic, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for Darwinism
[ där′wĭ-nĭz′əm ]
A theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. Darwin's ideas have been refined and modified by subsequent researchers, but his theories still form the foundation of the scientific understanding of the evolution of life. Darwinism is often contrasted with another theory of biological evolution called Lamarckism, based on the now-discredited ideas of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. See Note at evolution.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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