evolutionarily
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adverb:
- In a manner relating to or involving evolution: Describes something done or occurring in a way that pertains to the biological process of evolution by natural selection.
- From the perspective of evolutionary theory: Indicates an analysis, explanation, or viewpoint grounded in the principles of evolutionary biology.
Usage and Examples
- Adverb:
- This trait is evolutionarily advantageous for survival in cold climates. (This characteristic is beneficial from the perspective of evolutionary adaptation.)
- Scientists study how behaviors become evolutionarily conserved across species. (Scientists research how behaviors are preserved through the process of evolution.)
- The feature is evolutionarily recent, appearing only in the last few million years. (The characteristic developed relatively recently in evolutionary history.)
Advanced Usage
- "Evolutionarily stable strategy": A concept in game theory applied to biology, describing a behavioral strategy that, if adopted by a population, cannot be invaded by any alternative strategy.
- Cooperation can be an evolutionarily stable strategy in certain social species.
- Used to modify adjectives describing concepts in biology (e.g., evolutionarily significant, evolutionarily ancient, evolutionarily novel).
Variants and Related Words
- Evolutionary (adjective): Relating to or denoting the process of evolution.
- The study of evolutionary biology.
- Evolution (noun): The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms.
- Evolve (verb): To develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form.
Synonyms
- Phylogenetically: In a way concerning the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms.
- Adaptively: In a manner related to the process of adaptation through natural selection.
Notes on Meaning
- The term is strictly scientific and academic, primarily used in fields like biology, anthropology, and psychology. It connects a specific trait, behavior, or process to the broader, long-term mechanism of evolution.
- It does not mean "gradually" in a general sense, but specifically "in a manner pertaining to biological evolution."
Adverb
- in an evolutionary way; from an evolutionary point of view
- the mutation has been evolutionarily successful