evolutionary

[ev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee, ee-vuh-]

adjective

1. pertaining to evolution or development; developmental.

   the evolutionary origin of species.

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

3. pertaining to or performing evolutions.

Other Word Forms

• evolutionarily adverb
• antievolutionary adjective
• nonevolutionary adjective
• preevolutionary adjective
• proevolutionary adjective
• unevolutionary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of evolutionary¹

First recorded in 1840–50; evolution + -ary

Example Sentences

Musk got this “suicidal empathy” language from Gad Saad, a Canadian college professor who falsely presents himself as an “evolutionary behavioral scientist.”

Read more on Salon

Newly examined fossils show that modern sharks began developing extremely large body sizes far earlier in their evolutionary timeline than scientists once thought.

Read more on Science Daily

Because they were comparing species across a wide evolutionary range, the definition had to work universally.

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Companies have skimped on dividends amid an epic bull run for stock prices, leaving the S&P 500’s yield of just 1.1% looking like finance’s vestigial tailbone—an evolutionary holdover without a clear purpose.

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They focused on primates - and apes in particular - in order to build an evolutionary picture of the origin of the human kiss.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• developmental www.thesaurus.com
• transformative