Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

polygenic inheritance

American  

noun

Genetics.

  1. the heredity of complex characters that are determined by a large number of genes, each one usually having a relatively small effect.

Etymology

Origin of polygenic inheritance

First recorded in 1960–65; poly- + -genic

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.

"Investigating such rare familial clusters offers a rare window into the polygenic inheritance of resilience and may help disentangle the genetic and epigenetic contributions to extreme longevity," notes Dr. de Castro.

From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026

Cases in which inheritance for a characteristic like skin color or human height depend on the combined effects of numerous genes are called polygenic inheritance.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.