EVOLUTION

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does evolution mean? 

• EVOLUTION (noun)
  The noun EVOLUTION has 2 senses:

1. a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)

2. (biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms

  Familiarity information: EVOLUTION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EVOLUTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

development; evolution

Context example:

the slow development of her skill as a writer

Hypernyms ("evolution" is a kind of...):

physical process; process (a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "evolution"):

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)

flowering; unfolding (a developmental process)

Antonym:

devolution (the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality)

Derivation:

evolve (undergo development or evolution)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

evolution; organic evolution; phylogenesis; phylogeny

Hypernyms ("evolution" is a kind of...):

biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Domain member category:

Scopes 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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "evolution"):

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)

speciation (the evolution of a biological species)

Derivation:

evolutionary (of or relating to or produced by evolution)

evolve (undergo development or evolution)

evolve (gain through experience)

 Context examples 

This was a time that was a really interesting moment in evolution.

(Sea Monster Swam Oceans 170 Million Years Ago, Voanews)

A relatively complete cranium from the Afar region is a valuable addition to the hominin fossil record, providing another piece in the puzzle for reconstructing hominin adaptation and evolution.

(3.8-million-year-old fossil cranium unveils more about human ancestry, National Science Foundation)

The evolution of an individual's problem solving skills, memory, language development, and ability to process information about their environment.

(Cognitive Development, NCI Thesaurus)

Observations will help scientists learn more about the origin and evolution of our solar system and the role comets may have played in seeding Earth with water, and perhaps even life.

(Rosetta closing in on comet, NASA)

Ay, thanks to Herbert Spencer and to the master-key of life, evolution, which Spencer had placed in his hands.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The evolution of a low-grade neoplastic pathologic process to a high grade malignancy.

(Histologic Progression, NCI Thesaurus)

The evolution of actions, including reactions and responses to the environment, over an individual's lifespan.

(Behavioral Development, NCI Thesaurus)

This isn’t the end of this star’s evolution though — those outer layers are still moving and cooling.

(Hubble Views Final Stages of a Star’s Life, ESA/NASA)

This study highlights the need for continued “genomic surveillance” to track and try to slow the evolution of this virus as the outbreak continues.

(Genetics of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak, NIH)

The evolution of surface and shallow subsurface meltwater across Antarctic ice shelves has important implications for their stability, said program director Paul Cutler in NSF's Office of Polar Programs.

(Reframing the dangers Antarctica's meltwater ponds pose to ice shelves and sea level, National Science Foundation)