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Lysenkoism

American  
[li-seng-koh-iz-uhm] / lɪˈsɛŋ koʊˌɪz əm /

noun

  1. a genetic doctrine formulated by Lysenko and asserting that acquired characteristics are inheritable.


Lysenkoism British  
/ lɪˈsɛŋkəʊˌɪzəm /

noun

  1. a form of Neo-Lamarckism advocated by Lysenko, emphasizing the importance of the inheritance of acquired characteristics

"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

Etymology

Origin of Lysenkoism

1945–50; named after T. D. Lysenko; -ism

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.

Lysenkoism was around long enough that, to his eternal disgrace, the proponent of the bizarre theory of plant heritability got his name attached to it.

From Washington Post

Lysenkoism – despite being dead wrong – became the accepted orthodoxy in the academies and universities of communist Europe until the mid-1960s.

From Salon

Nazism and Lysenkoism were based on dramatically opposed conceptions of heredity—but the parallels between the two movements are striking.

From Literature

For example, the pseudo-genetics of Lysenkoism, so disastrous for agriculture elsewhere, never became the official position owing to strong resistance from prominent Chinese biologists, despite intense political pressure.

From Nature

Stalin embraced lysenkoism as the basis for Soviet agricultural policy, while also denouncing and persecuting Lysenko’s scientific critics.

From The Guardian