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evolutionist

American  
[ev-uh-loo-shuh-nist, ee-vuh-] / ˌɛv əˈlu ʃə nɪst, ˌi və- /

noun

  1. a person who believes in or supports a theory of evolution, especially in biology.

  2. a person who supports a policy of gradual growth or development rather than sudden change or expansion.


adjective

  1. of or relating to evolution or evolutionists.

  2. believing in or supporting a theory of evolution, especially in biology.

evolutionist British  
/ ˌiːvəˈluːʃənɪst /

noun

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

"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

adjective

  1. of or relating to a theory of evolution

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of evolutionist

First recorded in 1855–60; evolution + -ist

Explanation

An evolutionist is someone who believes that all organic life evolves from generation to generation through a process called natural selection. Evolutionist theories are those that are based on this idea. The theory of evolution––long accepted by all credible scientists––is questioned by fundamentalist Christians, who prefer the Biblical creation story. They are called Creationists, and evolutionist-creationist battles rage wherever science is taught.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In later life, they became a "body evolutionist", proposing a new gender that was beyond male and female.

From BBC Mar. 14, 2020

It was not about religion—Croizat was as complete an evolutionist as Darwin had been.

From Salon Jan. 12, 2014

In an elegant close reading of Darwin's final book on earthworms, alongside family letters, Phillips highlighted what the great evolutionist called his "slow & silent side attacks" on sceptics.

From The Guardian Jun. 1, 2012

Bowlby was very influenced by primatology and I was influenced by Bowlby, so essentially this kindly Victorian evolutionist was right in there in the nursery with me.

From Scientific American Mar. 16, 2012

She would trace us back to that beginning time like some evolutionist.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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