evolutionary

[ev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee or, esp. British, ee-vuh-]

adjective

pertaining to evolution or development; developmental: the evolutionary origin of species.

of, relating to, or in accordance with a theory of evolution, especially in biology.

pertaining to or performing evolutions.

Origin of evolutionary

First recorded in 1840–50; evolution + -ary

Related formsev·o·lu·tion·ar·i·ly, adverban·ti·ev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjectivenon·ev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjectivepre·ev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjectivepro·ev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjectiveun·ev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for evolutionarily

Contemporary Examples of evolutionarily

We are evolutionarily pretty well adapted to eat just about anything.
The Top 10 Diets of 2013 Are All Useless (Except to Book Publishers)
Kent Sepkowitz
December 29, 2013
Primates, it seems, are evolutionarily prepared to fear, detect, and respond to snakes.
The Best of Brit Lit
Peter Stothard
October 8, 2009

Word Origin and History for evolutionarily

evolutionary

adj.

1846, from evolution + -ary.