eugenics

[ yoo-jen-iks ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by people presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits negative eugenics or encouraging reproduction by people presumed to have inheritable desirable traits positive eugenics.

eugenics

/ ˈjuːdʒənɪst; juːˈdʒɛnɪks /

noun

1. functioning as singular the study of methods of improving the quality of the human race, esp by selective breeding

eugenics

1. The idea that one can improve the human race by careful selection of those who mate and produce offspring.

Notes

Eugenics was a popular theory in the early twentieth century but is no longer taken seriously, primarily because of the horrors of the eugenic efforts of the Nazi regime in Germany .

Derived Forms

• euˈgenic, adjective
• eugenist, nounadjective
• euˈgenically, adverb
• euˈgenicist, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of eugenics¹

First recorded in 1880–85; eugenic, -ics

Word History and Origins

Origin of eugenics¹

C19: from Greek eugenēs well-born, from eu- + -genēs born; see -gen

Example Sentences

In 1975, he wrote a paper titled “The Case for Passive Eugenics” and would later, in a letter to eugenicist Robert Graham, a millionaire businessman known for starting a sperm bank for geniuses, clarify his goals.

From Salon

When Tanton blended ecology with eugenics and immigration, he was digging up the two-century-old principles of Thomas Malthus, who first theorized that human population growth would lead to poverty and suffering.

From Salon

Through these years, Zuckerman was also the vice president of a separate Tanton-aligned organization called Californians for Population Stabilization, which had received funding from the Pioneer Fund, a far-right political group known for its support of eugenics.

From Salon

Nonetheless, he found common cause with people who prioritized race and eugenics.

From Salon

Trump reportedly admires Adolf Hitler, is obsessed with eugenics and breeding human beings like they are horses, and is threatening to purify the blood of the nation by purging it of “the enemy within” i.e. “racial undesirables” and the so-called Left.

From Salon