Dictionary.com
definitions

evolutionist

[ev-uh-loo-shuh-nist or, esp. British, ee-vuh-]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR evolutionist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who believes in or supports a theory of evolution, especially in biology.
a person who supports a policy of gradual growth or development rather than sudden change or expansion.

adjective Also ev·o·lu·tion·is·tic.

of or relating to evolution or evolutionists.
believing in or supporting a theory of evolution, especially in biology.

Origin of evolutionist

First recorded in 1855–60; evolution + -ist
Related formsev·o·lu·tion·ism, nounev·o·lu·tion·is·ti·cal·ly, adverban·ti·ev·o·lu·tion·ist, noun, adjectivean·ti·ev·o·lu·tion·is·tic, adjectivenon·ev·o·lu·tion·ist, nounpre·ev·o·lu·tion·ist, nounpro·ev·o·lu·tion·ist, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for evolutionism

adaptation, evolution, Darwinism, evolutionism, phylogeny, Neo-Darwinism

Examples from the Web for evolutionism

Historical Examples of evolutionism

  • That is to say that neo-Lamarckism is no more able than any other form of evolutionism to solve the problem.

    Creative Evolution

    Henri Bergson

  • Thanks to M. Quinton, evolutionism should rather be termed revolutionism.

  • As a matter of taste, Lyell did not relish the application of evolutionism to his own species.

    Charles Darwin

    Grant Allen

  • Long ago, in the infantile days of evolutionism, I often wondered why people made collections on such an irrational plan.

  • And evolutionism is gradually though slowly filtering downward.

    Charles Darwin

    Grant Allen

British Dictionary definitions for evolutionism

evolutionist

noun

a person who believes in a theory of evolution, esp Darwin's theory of the evolution of plant and animal species

adjective

of or relating to a theory of evolution
Derived Formsevolutionism, nounevolutionistic, adjective
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
Word Origin and History for evolutionism

evolutionist

n.

1859, from evolution + -ist. Related: Evolutionism.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper