eugenic

[ yoo-jen-ik ]

/ yuˈdʒɛn ɪk /

of or bringing about improvement in the type of offspring produced.

having good inherited characteristics.

Nearby words

Also eu·gen·i·cal.

Compare dysgenic.

1880–85; < Greek eugen(ḗs) wellborn (see eu-, -gen) + -ic

Related forms

eu·gen·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·eu·gen·ic, adjectivenon·eu·gen·i·cal, adjectivenon·eu·gen·i·cal·ly, adverb

un·eu·gen·ic, adjectiveun·eu·gen·i·cal, adjectiveun·eu·gen·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

She operated at a time when eugenic arguments were very much in vogue, harnessed by both sides of the birth-control debate.
How Palin Flunks Feminism|Michelle Goldberg|November 26, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Of course these illiterate foreign laborers are, from a eugenic point of view, not wholly bad.
Applied Eugenics|Paul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson
If it is an inferior stock, this one effect of the abolition of child labor would be eugenic.
Applied Eugenics|Paul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson
There are many arguments which may be advanced limiting the eugenic applicability of certain of these diseased conditions.
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume I. (of IV.)|W. Grant Hague, M.D.

Does the burden of Eugenic Choice rest heavily upon the shoulders of the individual?
The Super Race: An American Problem|Scott Nearing
A son will have to assume their support, and thus reduce the number of his own children,—a eugenic result.
Applied Eugenics|Paul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson