evolutionist

[ ev-uh-loo-shuh-nistor, especially British, ee-vuh- ]

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

/ ˌiːvəˈluːʃənɪst /

noun

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

adjective

1. of or relating to a theory of evolution

Derived Forms

• ˌevoˈlutionˌism, noun
• ˌevolutionˈistic, adjective

Other Words From

• evo·lution·ism noun
• evo·lution·isti·cal·ly adverb
• anti·evo·lution·ist noun adjective
• anti·evo·lution·istic adjective
• nonev·o·lution·ist noun
• preev·o·lution·ist noun
• proev·o·lution·ist adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of evolutionist¹

First recorded in 1855–60; evolution + -ist

Example Sentences

A team of ecologists and cultural evolutionists from the USA, Germany and New Zealand harnessed extensive cultural, environmental and linguistic databases to test these claims.

From Science Daily

“That’s quite exciting,” says molecular evolutionist Andrew Roger, who studies the evolution of organelles at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, because it suggests that evolving these transport systems anew isn’t as difficult as previously thought.

From Scientific American

“I’m not a biologist. I’m not an evolutionist,” he told an interviewer for the Current Biography reference work in 1995.

From Washington Post

Then in 1973, Henry M. Morris, founder of scientific creationism, fanatical anti-evolutionist and himself a racist who espoused a biblical justification for slavery, wrote an article accusing evolutionists like Huxley of supporting racism and genocide.

From Seattle Times

It was a synthesis, or perhaps an armistice, between the old and the new, between the physiologists and the molecular evolutionists.

From New York Times