Darwinian

[ dahr-win-ee-uhn ]

adjective

1. (sometimes lowercase) pertaining to Charles Darwin or his doctrines.

noun

1. a follower of Charles Darwin; a person who accepts or advocates Darwinism.

Darwinian

/ dɑːˈwɪnɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Charles Darwin or his theory of evolution by natural selection

noun

1. a person who accepts, supports, or uses this theory

Other Words From

• anti-Dar·wini·an noun adjective
• non-Dar·wini·an adjective noun
• post-Dar·wini·an adjective
• pre-Dar·wini·an adjective
• pro-Dar·wini·an adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Darwinian¹

First recorded in 1855–60; Darwin + -ian

Example Sentences

He has warned that European carmakers are in a "Darwinian" struggle with their Chinese rivals, something that is likely to have social consequences as they pare back costs in an effort to compete.

From BBC

That's because, simply put from a Darwinian perspective of how we have evolved, it's better to overcount potentially harmful agents and predators than to underestimate them.

From Science Daily

This year, researchers took a second look at Darwinian selection and proposed a bold new idea about how *gestures around* all this evolves, calling it the “law of increasing functional information.”

From Salon

For a good working definition of life, Hecht cited the definition officially used by NASA, which holds that "life is a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution."

From Salon

The next step is teaching students that their long-held cultural or religious beliefs aren’t necessarily antithetical to understanding and accepting Darwinian evolution.

From Science Magazine