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imprinting

[im-prin-ting]

noun

Animal Behavior, Psychology.
  1. rapid learning that occurs during a brief receptive period, typically soon after birth or hatching, and establishes a long-lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object, as attachment to parent, offspring, or site.



imprinting

/ ɪmˈprɪntɪŋ /

noun

  1. the development through exceptionally fast learning in young animals of recognition of and attraction to members of their own species or to surrogates

“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

imprinting

  1. A rapid learning process by which a newborn or very young animal establishes a behavior pattern of recognition and attraction towards other animals of its own kind, as well as to specific individuals of its species, such as its parents, or to a substitute for these. Ducklings, for example, will imprint upon and follow the first large moving object they observe. In nature, this is usually their mother, but they can be made to imprint upon other moving objects, such as a soccer ball.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of imprinting1

1937; imprint + -ing 1, translation of German Prägung, K. Lorenz's term
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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.

If there’s another cub in California, the agency may try to pair them up to keep them from imprinting on people, according to the release.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Howe immediately set about imprinting his methods at Newcastle.

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Thus, fathers have an important, albeit indirect, influence on the genetic imprinting of mitochondria and thereby on the energy metabolism of their children.

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By studying mice with heart failure, the researchers found evidence of stress imprinting on the epigenome, that is, chemical changes occurred to the mice's DNA.

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"In principle, imprinting can be positive, negative or neutral. In this case, we see strong imprinting that is positive, because it's coupled to the development of cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies with remarkable breadth of activity."

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