eugenic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to measures intended to produce a perceived improvement in the characteristics of the human species or a human population, especially through reproductive policy.
-
having inherited characteristics that are seen as favorable for the purpose of producing or reproducing perceived improvements in the human species or a human population.
Other Word Forms
- eugenically adverb
- noneugenic adjective
- noneugenical adjective
- noneugenically adverb
- uneugenic adjective
- uneugenical adjective
- uneugenically adverb
Etymology
Origin of eugenic
First recorded in 1880–85; from Greek eugen(ḗs) “wellborn” ( eu-, -gen ) + -ic
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.
Today’s eugenic thought does deviate from the version that prevailed in the 1920s.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025
“I didn't realize the extent to which a number of the past presidents and people who have been very well-respected in terms of their contributions to human genetics… believed in this eugenic ideology,” Tishkoff says.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 24, 2023
In “Daffodil’s Baby,” Alyssa Virker taps into the deep fear and fascination we have with eugenic inequality, focusing on a particularly mesmerizing aspect of it: our obsession with children of the famous and talented.
From Slate • Apr. 25, 2020
“For those determined to miss the point, I deplore the idea of a eugenic policy,” he wrote.
From Washington Times • Feb. 17, 2020
Around the world, eugenic programs came to a shamefaced halt.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
