Definition

1. Adjective:
   • (Biology) Asexual, not involving the fusion of male and female gametes: Describes a mode of reproduction where offspring are produced from a single parent without the union of sex cells (gametes).

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Many plants, like ferns, can reproduce through agamic means such as spores.
  • The agamic reproduction of some insects ensures rapid population growth.

Advanced Usage

• Technical/Biological Context: The term is primarily used in formal biological and botanical texts to describe non-sexual reproductive processes.
  • The study focused on the agamic cycles of certain parasitic wasps.

Variants and Related Words

• Agamous (adj): A less common variant with the same meaning.
  • Agamous reproduction is common in many lower plants.
• Agamogenesis (n): The process of asexual reproduction.
  • Agamogenesis results in genetically identical offspring.

Synonyms

• Asexual: Reproducing without the fusion of gametes.
• Parthenogenetic: A specific type of asexual reproduction where an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual.

Antonyms

• Sexual: Involving the fusion of male and female gametes.
• Amphigonic: Relating to reproduction by the union of male and female gametes.

Adjective

1. (of reproduction) not involving the fusion of male and female gametes in reproduction