ev·o·lu·tion
(ĕv′ə-lo͞o′shən, ē′və-)n.
1.
a. A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.
b. A result of this process; a development: Judo is an evolution of an earlier martial art.
2. Biology
a. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, often resulting in the development of new species. The mechanisms of evolution include natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, mutation, migration, and genetic drift.
b. The historical development of a related group of organisms; phylogeny.
3. Astronomy Change in the structure, chemical composition, or dynamical properties of a celestial object or system such as a planetary system, star, or galaxy. Evolution often changes the observable or measurable characteristics of the object or system.
4. A movement that is part of a set of ordered movements: naval evolutions in preparation for battle.
5. Mathematics The extraction of a root of a quantity.
[Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōn-, from ēvolūtus, past participle of ēvolvere, to unroll; see evolve.]
ev′o·lu′tion·al, ev′o·lu′tion·ar′y (-shə-nĕr′ē) adj.
ev′o·lu′tion·ar′i·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
evolution
(ˌiːvəˈluːʃən)n
1. (Biology) biology a gradual change in the characteristics of a population of animals or plants over successive generations: accounts for the origin of existing species from ancestors unlike them. See also natural selection
2. a gradual development, esp to a more complex form: the evolution of modern art.
3. (Chemistry) the act of throwing off, as heat, gas, vapour, etc
4. a pattern formed by a series of movements or something similar
5. (Mathematics) an algebraic operation in which the root of a number, expression, etc, is extracted. Compare involution6
6. (Military) military an exercise carried out in accordance with a set procedure or plan
[C17: from Latin ēvolūtiō an unrolling, from ēvolvere to evolve]
ˌevoˈlutionary, ˌevoˈlutional adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ev•o•lu•tion
(ˌɛv əˈlu ʃən; esp. Brit. ˌi və-)n.
1. any process of formation or growth; development: the evolution of the drama.
2. a product of development; something evolved.
3. Biol.
a. change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.
b. the development of a species or other group of organisms; phylogeny.
c. the theory that all existing organisms developed from earlier forms by natural selection; Darwinism.
4. a process of gradual, progressive change and development, as in a social or economic structure.
5. a motion incomplete in itself, but combining with coordinated motions to produce a single action, as in a machine.
6. a pattern formed by a series of movements: the evolutions of a figure skater.
7. Math. the extraction of a root from a quantity.
8. a military training exercise.
9. a movement executed by troops in formation.
ev`o•lu′tion•al, ev•o•lu′tion•ar′y, adj.
ev`o•lu′tion•al•ly, ev`o•lu`tion•ar′i•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ev·o·lu·tion
(ĕv′ə-lo͞o′shən) The process by which species of organisms arise from earlier life forms and undergo change over a long period of time through natural selection. The genetic makeup of populations of organisms can be traced using fossils and recent advances in DNA technology to determine the relationships between members of a given species. See also natural selection. See Note at Darwin.
Did You Know? Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection assumed that tiny adaptations occur in organisms constantly over exceptionally long periods of time. Gradually, a new species develops that is distinct from its ancestors. In the 1970s, however, biologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed that evolution by natural selection was a far more bumpy road. Based on types of fossils that exist around the world, they said that evolution is better described through punctuated equilibrium. That is, for long periods of time, species in fact remain virtually unchanged, not even gradually adapting. They are in equilibrium, in a balance with the environment. But when confronted with environmental challenges—sudden climate change, for example—organisms adapt quite quickly, perhaps in only a few thousand years. These active periods are punctuations, after which a new equilibrium exists and species remain stable until the next punctuation.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Evolution
the theory of evolution by natural selection of those species best adapted to survive the struggle for existence. — Darwinian, n., ad).
a principle or theory of evolution. — evolutionist, n., adj.
the theory of organic evolution advanced by the French naturalist Lamarck that characteristics acquired by habit, diseases, or adaptations to change in environment may be inherited. — Lamarckian, n., adj.
the theory that maintains natural selection to be the major factor in plant and animal evolution and denies the possibility of inheriting acquired characteristics. — Neo-Darwinist, n., adj. — Neo-Darwinian, n., adj.
a modern theory based on Lamarckism that states that acquired characteristics are inherited. — Neo-Lamarckian, n., adj.
progressive evolution, leading to the development of a new form, as can be seen through successive generations. See also society. — orthogenetic, adj.
the theory advanced by Darwin, now rejected, that each part of the body is represented in each cell by gemmules, which are the basic units of hereditary transmission. — pangenetic, adj.
the history of the development of a plant, animal, or racial type. — phylogenist, n. — phylogenetic, adj.
a devotion to the conditions which existed at the beginning of creation.
the ability of one species to change into another. — transformist, n.
1. the theory that chance is involved in evolution and that variation within a species is accidental.
2. the belief that chance rather than mere determinism operates in the cosmos. Cf. uniformitarianism.
2. the belief that chance rather than mere determinism operates in the cosmos. Cf. uniformitarianism.
1. Philosophy. a doctrine that the universe is governed only by rigid, unexceptionable law.
2. Geology. the concept that current geological processes explain all past geological occurrences. — uniformitarian, n., adj.
2. Geology. the concept that current geological processes explain all past geological occurrences. — uniformitarian, n., adj.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
evolution
Change in the characteristics of a population of organisms over time.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  evolution - a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage); "the development of his ideas took many years"; "the evolution of Greek civilization"; "the slow development of her skill as a writer"physical process, process - a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states; "events now in process"; "the process of calcification begins later for boys than for girls" assibilation - the development of a consonant phoneme into a sibilant deepening - a process of becoming deeper and more profound growth - a progression from simpler to more complex forms; "the growth of culture" degeneration, devolution - the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality |
| 2. |  evolution - (biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organismsScopes trial - a highly publicized trial in 1925 when John Thomas Scopes violated a Tennessee state law by teaching evolution in high school; Scopes was prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan and defended by Clarence Darrow; Scopes was convicted but the verdict was later reversed biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms anamorphism, anamorphosis - the evolution of one type of organism from another by a long series of gradual changes anthropogenesis, anthropogeny - the evolution or genesis of the human race emergent evolution - the appearance of entirely new properties at certain critical stages in the course of evolution macroevolution - evolution on a large scale extending over geologic era and resulting in the formation of new taxonomic groups microevolution - evolution resulting from small specific genetic changes that can lead to a new subspecies biological process, organic process - a process occurring in living organisms speciation - the evolution of a biological species |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
evolution
noun
1. development, adaptation, natural selection, Darwinism, survival of the fittest, evolvement the evolution of plants and animals
2. development, growth, advance, progress, working out, expansion, extension, unfolding, progression, enlargement, maturation, unrolling a crucial period in the evolution of modern physics
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
evolution
noun1. A progression from a simple form to a more complex one:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
إرْتِقاءتَطَوُّر، نُشوءنُشُوء
evolució
evoluce
evolutionudvikling
evoluo
evoluutio
evolucija
evolúció
òróun
発展
진화
evolutio vitaeprogressusseries
evoluţie
evolutionutveckling
วิวัฒนาการ
sự tiến hóa
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
evolution
n
(= development, Biol) → Evolution f, → Entwicklung f; the evolution of events in Vietnam → die Entwicklung in Vietnam; theory of evolution → Evolutionstheorie f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
evolve
(iˈvolv) verb to (cause to) develop gradually. Man evolved from the apes.
evolution (iːvəˈluːʃən) , ((American) e-) noun1. gradual working out or development. the evolution of our form of government.
2. the development of the higher kinds of animals (eg man), plants etc, from the lower kinds. Darwin's theory of evolution.
evolutionary (iːvəˈluːʃənəri) , ((American) e-) adjectiveKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
evolution
→ نُشُوء evoluce evolution Evolution εξέλιξη evolución evoluutio évolution evolucija evoluzione 発展 진화 evolutie utvikling ewolucja evolução эволюция evolution วิวัฒนาการ evrim sự tiến hóa 演变Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
ev·o·lu·tion
n. evolución, cambio gradual, transición.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
evolution
n evolución fEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.