ecological
Britishadjective
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of or relating to ecology
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(of a practice, policy, product, etc) tending to benefit or cause minimal damage to the environment
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Anything ecological relates to the science of ecology, which is the study of how living things and the environment do their thing. If you're interested in issues like preserving rain forests, saving endangered species, and keeping drinking water safe, you're interested in ecological issues. Ecological things have to do with how plants and animals relate to each other, in good and bad ways, in specific environments — from the impact of floods on river insects to how smog harms humans. Just about anything people do has an ecological impact — for better or worse.
Vocabulary lists containing ecological
The Omnivore's Dilemma
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The Modern Period, c. 1750 to c. 1914
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5.3: The First Industrial Revolution (Sources 1–7)
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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.
This, Mr. Ogilvy argues, was “California’s original sin,” upsetting the coast’s ecological balance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Rather than progressing toward one standard body form or sensory system, separate snake lineages developed adaptations suited to different ecological settings.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Using Indigenous ecological knowledge – a plant's colour and scent, for example, or the shade cover of trees - he can verify information in the satellite images from Yebra's team.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
"This season is a wipe-out. From a tourist, ecological and aesthetic point of view, it's a long-term disaster."
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
It lacks the severe ecological barriers transecting the major axes of the Americas and Africa.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
