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disassortative mating

American  
[dis-uh-sawr-tuh-tiv] / ˌdɪs əˈsɔr tə tɪv /

noun

Animal Behavior, Psychology.

  1. the reproductive pairing of individuals that have traits more dissimilar than would likely be the case if mating were random (assortative mating ).

Etymology

Origin of disassortative mating

dis- 1 + assort + -ative

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.

This would prove that the white and tan morphs were using true disassortative mating, so that all pairs were white–tan.

From Nature • Nov. 22, 2016

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.