paedomorphic
UK/piːdə(ʊ)ˈmɔːfɪk//ˌpidəˈmɔɹfɪk/
paedomorphic adjective: of, relating to, or resulting from the retention of juvenile characteristics by an adult.
Adjective
paedomorphic (comparative more paedomorphic, superlative most paedomorphic)
- Of, relating to, or resulting from the retention of juvenile characteristics by an adult.
- Based on pedomorphic changes in the fossils of Paleolithic humans, Wrangham has suggested that a similar process has been taking place in human evolution during the past thirty to fifty thousand years, and may still be taking place.2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 744
- Synonyms:
- neotenic
Synonyms of paedomorphic
Forms of paedomorphic
| comparative | more paedomorphic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most paedomorphic |
| alternative form | pedomorphic |
| alternative UK US (dated) | pædomorphic |
Origin of paedomorphic
From paedo- + -morphic.
Words that rhyme with paedomorphic
- isomorphic
- metamorphic
- polymorphic
- monomorphic
- amorphic
- anamorphic
- anthropomorphic
- dimorphic
- dysmorphic
- lagomorphic
- trimorphic
- allomorphic
10 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about paedomorphic
- What does paedomorphic mean?
- Paedomorphic means of, relating to, or resulting from the retention of juvenile characteristics by an adult.
- What part of speech is paedomorphic?
- Paedomorphic is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce paedomorphic?
- Paedomorphic is pronounced /piːdə(ʊ)ˈmɔːfɪk/ (UK).
Words near paedomorphic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: paedomorphic (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: en-us-paedomorphic.ogg.
Cite this entry: “paedomorphic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/paedomorphic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.