eugenics

[ yoo-jen-iks ]

/ yuˈdʒɛn ɪks /

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See synonyms for eugenics on Thesaurus.com

noun (used with a singular verb)

the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by people presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics ) or encouraging reproduction by people presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics ).

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Origin of eugenics

First recorded in 1880–85; see origin at eugenic, -ics

historical usage of eugenics

Modern eugenics was popularized by Sir Francis Galton in the late 1800s. In many cases, its methods have been entwined with prejudice. Selecting for desirable traits requires establishing what counts as desirable, and for some scientists of the late 1800s and early 1900s, people with disabilities, people in lower economic classes, and people belonging to any ethnic or racial minority group were automatically considered to be undesirable. In the United States, forced or coerced sterilizations were conducted throughout the first half of the 20th century, often targeting people with physical or mental disabilities, people who had committed crimes, Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people, and other vulnerable groups. In Germany, eugenics was a crucial part of the Nazi Party's ideology. Because of this history of racism, ableism, classism, and other types of discrimination, eugenics is generally not studied or practiced within the scientific community today. The rise of genetic engineering, however, has brought new concerns to the conversation surrounding eugenics.

Words nearby eugenics

eugarie, Eugene, Eugenia, eugenic, eugenicist, eugenics, Eugénie, Eugenius I, Eugenius II, Eugenius III, Eugenius IV

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use eugenics in a sentence

So Gordin refers to it, and alchemy, and eugenics, as vestigial sciences — once regarded as totally scientific, but cast aside into the pseudoscience realm by the advance of knowledge.
‘On the Fringe’ explores the thin line between science and pseudoscience|Tom Siegfried|August 30, 2021|Science News
Prominent conservationists in the 19th and 20th centuries at times endorsed abhorrent practices, such as eugenics.
Delve into the history of the fight for Earth’s endangered creatures|Sarah Zielinski|March 8, 2021|Science News
This last argument has been the justification for all past attempts at eugenics.
How colonialism and capitalism helped place a stigma on mental illness|Balaji Ravichandran|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Critics of Helen Keller cite her writings that reflected the popularity of now-dated eugenics theories and her friendship with one of the movement’s supporters Alexander Graham Bell.
Co-Founding the ACLU, Fighting for Labor Rights and Other Helen Keller Accomplishments Students Don't Learn in School|Video by Arpita Aneja|December 15, 2020|Time

As I argued recently in Nautilus, there is an illusion that’s long plagued science—linked to the eugenics movement and the ideas of Francis Galton, the founder of Nature—that objectivity in statistical analysis confers objectivity in interpretation.
The Problem with a New Study on Mentorship in Science - Facts So Romantic|Aubrey Clayton|December 2, 2020|Nautilus
The attempt to “breed back” the Auroch of Teutonic legend was of a piece with the Nazi obsession with racial purity and eugenics.
‘Nazi Cows’ Tried to Kill British Farmer|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Eugenics is a word that made everyone at the event uncomfortable.
Want Blue Eyes With That Baby?: The Strange New World of Human Reproduction|Eleanor Clift|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Therefore, we can at least infer that the people of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes did not have a rigorous eugenics program like Sparta.
Living With Disability in the Dark Ages|Elizabeth Picciuto|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Why the sterilization and eugenics programs are running in different countries in one way or another under the umbrella of UNO.
The Taliban’s Letter to Malala Yousafzai|The Daily Beast|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The very subject evokes dark visions of forced sterilization and the eugenics horrors of the early 20th century.
Penn State Sex-Abuse Case Revives Issue of Using Chemical Castration|Michelle Cottle|November 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
You might therefore consider it, in some sense, a story of eugenics, but that its outlook is emotional rather than scientific.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, May 16, 1917.|Various
It has already been gone into in detail in the article on eugenics.
The Eugenic Marriage, Vol. 3 (of 4)|W. Grant Hague
One of the things about which we know almost nothing at present is the subject of eugenics.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society|Upton Sinclair
Euthenics precedes eugenics, developing better men now, and thus inevitably creating a better race of men in the future.
Euthenics, the science of controllable environment|Ellen H. Richards
Euthenics is the term proposed for the preliminary science on which Eugenics must be based.
Euthenics, the science of controllable environment|Ellen H. Richards

British Dictionary definitions for eugenics

eugenics

/ (juːˈdʒɛnɪks) /

noun

(functioning as singular) the study of methods of improving the quality of the human race, esp by selective breeding

Derived forms of eugenics

eugenic, adjectiveeugenically, adverbeugenicist, nouneugenist (ˈjuːdʒənɪst), noun, adjective

Word Origin for eugenics

C19: from Greek eugenēs well-born, from eu- + -genēs born; see -gen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for eugenics

eugenics

[ (yooh-jen-iks) ]

The idea that one can improve the human race by careful selection of those who mate and produce offspring.

notes for eugenics

Eugenics was a popular theory in the early twentieth century but is no longer taken seriously, primarily because of the horrors of the eugenic efforts of the Nazi regime in Germany.

eugenics

Origin of eugenics

historical usage of eugenics

Words nearby eugenics

Words related to eugenics

How to use eugenics in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for eugenics

Derived forms of eugenics

Word Origin for eugenics

Cultural definitions for eugenics

notes for eugenics