epigenesis
Americannoun
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Biology. the theory that an embryo develops from the successive differentiation of an originally undifferentiated structure (opposed to preformation).
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Genetics. the approximately stepwise process by which genetic information is modified and translated into the substance and behavior of an organism.
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Geology. ore deposition subsequent to the original formation of the enclosing country rock.
noun
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the widely accepted theory that an individual animal or plant develops by the gradual differentiation and elaboration of a fertilized egg cell Compare preformation
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the formation or alteration of rocks after the surrounding rock has been formed
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alteration of the mineral composition of a rock by external agents: a type of metamorphism
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of epigenesis
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.
There was no epigenesis in the case of giraffes’ long necks nor in more than 99% of the workings of natural selection in other contexts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Some species, indeed, can pass this resilience on to their offspring by a process called intergenerational epigenesis.
From Economist ● Mar. 15, 2018
In the case of mothers, it is now believed that this process, called intergenerational epigenesis, is caused by micro-RNAs from the parent getting into eggs as they form in a developing fetus.
From Economist ● Feb. 22, 2018
The chemical processes that alter the genes in epigenesis – methylation and deacetylation of the packaging proteins of the genes, the histones – are fairly well understood.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 8, 2012
The opposing views of to-day were in existence centuries ago, and they are known in the history of science as the theory of preformation or evolution, and the theory of epigenesis.
From The Biological Problem of To-day Preformation Or Epigenesis? The Basis of a Theory of Organic Development by Oscar Hertwig
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.
