Darwinian

American  

[dahr-win-ee-uhn] / dɑrˈwɪn i ən /

adjective

1. (sometimes lowercase) pertaining to Charles Darwin or his doctrines.

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noun

1. a follower of Charles Darwin; a person who accepts or advocates Darwinism.

Darwinian British  

/ dɑːˈwɪnɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Charles Darwin or his theory of evolution by natural selection

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noun

1. a person who accepts, supports, or uses this theory

Other Word Forms

• anti-Darwinian
  noun
• non-Darwinian
  adjective
• post-Darwinian
  adjective
• pre-Darwinian
  adjective
• pro-Darwinian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Darwinian

First recorded in 1855–60; Darwin + -ian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Darwinian

It’s clear why a builder might want to sort gravel by size, but how does nature decide which features to select in Darwinian evolution?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

"The world has become very Darwinian again," he warned.

From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026

What I've noticed this week is there's a Darwinian selection about the people who have come to the conference in Manchester.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025

The show, imported to the U.S. by Burnett, took the voyeurism of “The Real World” and added an element of Darwinian competition that other shows, including “The Challenge,” immediately tried to replicate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2025

Any form of scientific dissent to his theories—especially any belief in Mendelian genetics or Darwinian evolution—was outlawed in the Soviet Union.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee