Meanings
nounartificial selection (uncountable)
- uncountableevolutionary theoryIntervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals in order to preserve selected genetic traits.
Synonyms: selective breeding
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIntervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals in order to preserve selected genetic traits.
Similar
Origin
Coined by Charles Darwin in 1859 in his book On the Origin of Species.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic اِنْتِخَاب اِصْطِنَاعِيّ
- اِنْتِخَاب اِصْطِنَاعِيّ (intiḵāb iṣṭināʕiyy)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Catalan selecció artificial
- selecció artificialintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Chinese Cantonese 人工選擇 /人工选择, 人擇 /人择
- 人工選擇 /人工选择 (jan⁴ gung¹ syun² zaak⁶)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- 人擇 /人择 (jan⁴ zaak⁶)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Chinese Mandarin 人工選擇 /人工选择, 人擇 /人择
- 人工選擇 /人工选择 (réngōng xuǎnzé)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- 人擇 /人择 (rénzé)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Danish kunstig selektion, kunstigt utvalg
- kunstig selektionintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- kunstigt utvalgintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Dutch kunstmatige selectie
- kunstmatige selectieintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Finnish keinotekoinen valinta, valintajalostus
- keinotekoinen valintaintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- valintajalostusintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
French sélection artificielle
- sélection artificielleintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
German künstliche Selektion, künstliche Auswahl
- künstliche Selektionintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- künstliche Auswahlintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Greek τεχνητή επιλογή
- τεχνητή επιλογή (technití epilogí)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Italian selezione artificiale
- selezione artificialeintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Latvian mākslīgā izlase
- mākslīgā izlaseintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Lithuanian dirbtinė atranka
- dirbtinė atrankaintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Norwegian Bokmål kunstig seleksjon, kunstig utvalg
- kunstig seleksjonintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- kunstig utvalgintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Polish dobór sztuczny
- dobór sztucznyintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Portuguese seleção artificial
- seleção artificialintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Romanian selecție artificială
- selecție artificialăintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Russian иску́сственный отбо́р
- иску́сственный отбо́р (iskússtvennyj otbór)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Spanish selección artificial
- selección artificialintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Swedish artificiellt urval
- artificiellt urvalintervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Ukrainian шту́чний добі́р, шту́чний відбі́р
- шту́чний добі́р (štúčnyj dobír)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
- шту́чний відбі́р (štúčnyj vidbír)intervention by humans in the breeding of plants or animals
Cite this entry
APA
artificial selection. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/artificial%20selection
MLA
“artificial selection.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/artificial%20selection. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “artificial selection,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/artificial%20selection.
Source: artificial selection on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.