evolutionary
Americanadjective
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pertaining to evolution or development; developmental.
the evolutionary origin of species.
-
of, relating to, or in accordance with a theory of evolution, especially in biology.
-
pertaining to or performing evolutions.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of evolutionary
Explanation
Evolutionary things have to do with how animals (or other things) change over time — this process of change is called evolution. Scientists that study living things are interested in evolutionary changes in form or behavior. It's not always easy to put the evolutionary pieces together, and scientists often have to rely on fossils to tell the whole story of evolution. Usually, evolutionary changes happen because they help the organism survive and reproduce. Many evolutionary questions are non-physical: How did the domestication of dogs change the behavior of canines from an evolutionary standpoint? When you see the word evolutionary, think "change."
Vocabulary lists containing evolutionary
Evolutionary BIology - Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity - Middle School
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Evolutionary BIology - Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity - High School
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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Together, these insights are shaping a growing subfield known as evolutionary dentistry, using our evolutionary past to understand the dental problems of the present.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
They have been reported across our recent evolutionary history, from 2-million-year-old fossils through to Neanderthals.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
Somewhere along the way, for evolutionary reasons, aging has become baked into the process.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
By examining galaxies in such detail, researchers can better understand how travel through a galaxy cluster influences star formation and drives long-term evolutionary changes.
From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026
According to the basic evolutionary criteria of survival and reproduction, wheat has become one of the most successful plants in the history of the earth.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
