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catagenesis

American

[kat-uh-jen-uh-sis] / ˌkæt əˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun

Biology.

the retrogressive evolution of a species.

Other Word Forms

catagenetic adjective

Etymology

Origin of catagenesis

First recorded in 1880–85; cata- + genesis

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.