Adaptationism

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The view that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations. uncountable
  2. 2
    A set of methods for distinguishing traits resulting from adaptation from those arising through other processes. uncountable

    "Until one is clear about just what one means by adaptationism, what evidence one needs to accuse someone of being an "adaptationist" will remain vague; this rather diminishes the force of the accusation."

  3. 3
    The belief that all traits are adaptations brought about by natural selection, when some are only functionless by-products (also called "spandrels"). derogatory, uncountable

Example

More examples

"Until one is clear about just what one means by adaptationism, what evidence one needs to accuse someone of being an "adaptationist" will remain vague; this rather diminishes the force of the accusation."

Etymology

From adaptation + -ism.

Related phrases

by productnatural selection

More for "adaptationism"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.