adaptationism

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noun

The view that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations.

OriginEnglish adaptation ← French adaptation ← Medieval Latin adaptātiō →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounadaptationism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableevolutionary theoryThe view that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations.
  2. uncountableevolutionary theoryA set of methods for distinguishing traits resulting from adaptation from those arising through other processes.

    Until one is clear about just what one means by adaptationism, what evidence one needs to accuse someone of being an "adaptationist" will remain vague; this rather diminishes the force of the accusation.

    2006, Massimo Pigliucci, Jonathan Michael Kaplan, Making Sense of Evolution: The Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago Press
  3. derogatoryuncountableevolutionary theoryThe belief that all traits are adaptations brought about by natural selection, when some are only functionless by-products (also called "spandrels").

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ptós
  7. Proto-Italic*aptos
  8. Latinaptus
  9. Proto-Indo-European[Term?]
  10. Proto-Italic*apjō
  11. Latinapiō
  12. Latinaptō
  13. Latinadaptō
  14. Medieval Latinadaptātiō
  15. Frenchadaptation
  16. Englishadaptation
  17. Englishadaptationism

From adaptation + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 適應主義 /适应主义
  • 適應主義 /适应主义 (shìyìngzhǔyì)view that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations
Finnish adaptationismi
  • adaptationismiview that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations
Polish adaptacjonizm
  • adaptacjonizmview that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations
Portuguese adaptacionismo
  • adaptacionismoview that many traits of organisms are evolved adaptations

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

misadaptation
Cite this entry
APA

adaptationism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adaptationism

MLA

“adaptationism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adaptationism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adaptationism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adaptationism.

Source: adaptationism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.