darwinian
Syllables: Dar·win·i·an/dɑːˈwɪ.ni.ən/US/dɑɹˈwɪ.ni.ən/
darwinian is the alternative letter-case form of Darwinian.
Adjective capitalized: Darwinian
Darwinian (comparative more Darwinian, superlative most Darwinian)
- Of or pertaining to the scientific views advanced by the English biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin, especially his theory that living organisms evolve through the natural selection of inherited variations that increase organisms' ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
- Synonyms:
- Darwinic, Darwinical, Darwinist, Darwinistic, Darwinite
- Of or pertaining to Darwinism, which includes the theories of Charles Darwin and other scientists.
- The Darwinian movement has made no difference to mankind, except that, instead of talking unphilosophically about philosophy, they now talk unscientifically about science.1904 July 9 and 16, Gilbert K[eith] Chesterton, “The Eccentric Seclusion of the Old Lady”, in The Club of Queer Trades, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, published April 1905...
- Synonyms:
- Darwinist, Darwinistic
- Competitive, especially in a ruthless manner.
- Synonyms:
- dog eat dog
- Exhibiting an ability to adapt or develop in order to survive; adaptable.
- Antonyms:
- inadaptable, inflexible, rigid, unadaptable
- Of or pertaining to the philosophical and scientific views, or poetic style, of the natural philosopher, physiologist, and poet Erasmus Darwin.
- Synonyms:
- Darwinic
- Of or pertaining to Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia.
Noun capitalized: Darwinian
Darwinian (plural Darwinians)
- An adherent of Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of species, or of Darwinism.
- This is, I believe, the first instance known of a "flying frog," and it is very interesting to Darwinians as showing that the variability of the toes which have been already modified for purposes of swimming and adhesive climbing, have been taken advantage of to enable an allied species to pass...1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 61
- An adherent of the philosophical and scientific views, or poetic style, of Erasmus Darwin.
- A native or resident of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia.
Synonyms of darwinian
Antonyms
Forms of darwinian
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more darwinian |
| superlative | most darwinian |
| comparative | more Darwinian |
| superlative | most Darwinian |
| alternative form | darwinian |
| alternative form | Darwinean |
| Noun | |
| plural | darwinians |
| plural | Darwinians |
Origin of darwinian
From Darwin + -ian (suffix with the sense ‘belonging to, relating to, or like’ forming adjectives or nouns). Darwin is the surname of Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802) and his grandson Charles Darwin (1809–1882). Adjective sense 2 (“of or pertaining to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia”) and noun sense 2 (“native or resident of Darwin”) refer to the city of Darwin which was named after Charles Darwin.
Words formed from darwinian
Phrases with darwinian
Words that rhyme with darwinian
Questions about darwinian
- What does darwinian mean?
- Darwinian means of or pertaining to the scientific views advanced by the English biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin, especially his theory that living organisms evolve through the natural selection of inherited variations that increase organisms' ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
- What is darwinian the alternative letter-case form of?
- Darwinian is the alternative letter-case form of Darwinian.
- What part of speech is darwinian?
- Darwinian can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce darwinian?
- Darwinian is pronounced /dɑːˈwɪ.ni.ən/ (UK).
Words near darwinian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: darwinian (page history and authors); Darwinian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Darwinian.wav.
Cite this entry: “darwinian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/darwinian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.