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xenogenesis

American  
[zen-uh-jen-uh-sis, zee-nuh-] / ˌzɛn əˈdʒɛn ə sɪs, ˌzi nə- /
Also xenogeny

noun

Biology.
  1. heterogenesis.

  2. the supposed generation of offspring completely and permanently different from the parent.


xenogenesis British  
/ ˌzɛnəʊdʒɪˈnɛtɪk, ˌzɛnəˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

  1. the supposed production of offspring completely unlike either parent

  2. another name for abiogenesis alternation of generations

"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

  • xenogenetic adjective
  • xenogenic adjective

Etymology

Origin of xenogenesis

First recorded in 1865–70; xeno- + -genesis

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.

N: Octavia Butler has this series “Xenogenesis.”

From Los Angeles Times

The heptapods from Arrival, unhumanoid, unearthlike, so strange they shatter and reform the human heroine’s brain; Stevland from Sue Burke’s novel Semiosis, a sentient plant who finds ways to communicate with, and strugglingly understand, the human colonists who’ve come to live on his planet; Octavia Butler’s Oankali, creepily gray and tentacled, familiar enough for the human protagonist of her Xenogenesis trilogy to speak with and love, but eventually irrevocably alien in their morals and worldview.

From Slate

One of his first forays into movies was creating the fantasy world of "Xenogenesis," a film that never saw the light of day but a pilot can be seen on YouTube.

From Reuters

Another difference between “Xenogenesis” and the Marvel Universe is that Butler gets primary credit, and primary recompense, for her work.

From Los Angeles Times

“Skyward Inn,” though, seems thematically closer to Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis series.

From Los Angeles Times