Meanings
- uncountableThe belief that biological life on Earth, or more broadly, the universe as a whole, was created by an intelligent agent (specified or unspecified) rather than being the result of undirected natural processes.
Anaxagoras (500–428 B.C.) was the first of the Greeks "to attribute the adaptations of Nature to Intelligent Design, and was thus the founder of Teleology," an idea that has played a retarding function in the history of evolution.
1926, Horatio Hackett Newman, chapter 2, in Evolution, Genetics And Eugenics, page 132 more examples
Of Pandas and People is not intended to be a balanced treatment by itself. We have given a favorable case for intelligent design and raised reasonable doubt about natural descent. But used together with your other text, it should help to balance the overall curriculum.
1993, Percival Davis, Dean H. Kenyon, “Introduction”, in Charles Thaxton, editor, Of Pandas and People, 2nd edition, Dallas, TX: Haughton Pub. Co., →ISBN, page ixIntelligent design means that the various forms of life began abruptly through the agency of an intelligent creator with their distinctive features already intact—fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks, and wings, etc.
2006, Philip Clayton, Zachary R. Simpson, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science, Oxford University Press,, →ISBN, page 735Synonyms: ID, IDism, intelligent designism, neo-creationism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe belief that biological life on Earth, or more broadly, the universe as a whole, was created by an intelligent agent (specified or unspecified) rather than being the result of undirected natural processes.
Origin
Became a standard and widely promoted term in the 1987 draft of Of Pandas and People by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, as a repackaging of creationism after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against its teaching in Edwards v. Aguillard (1987).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic التَصْمِيم الذَكِيّ
- التَصْمِيم الذَكِيّ (at-taṣmīm aḏ-ḏakiyy)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
Catalan disseny intel·ligent
- disseny intel·ligentintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Chinese Mandarin 智能設計 /智能设计, 智慧設計 /智慧设计
- 智能設計 /智能设计 (zhìnéng shèjì)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
- 智慧設計 /智慧设计 (zhìhuì shèjì)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
Czech inteligentní plán
- inteligentní plánintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Danish intelligent design
- intelligent designintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Dutch intelligent design
- intelligent designintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Esperanto inteligenta dezajno
- inteligenta dezajnointelligent design / Intelligent Design
Finnish älykäs suunnittelu
- älykäs suunnitteluintelligent design / Intelligent Design
French dessein intelligent
- dessein intelligentintelligent design / Intelligent Design
German Intelligent Design
- Intelligent Designintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Hebrew תכנון תבוני
- תכנון תבוניintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Hungarian intelligens tervezés
- intelligens tervezésintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Indonesian intelligent design
- intelligent designintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Italian disegno intelligente
- disegno intelligenteintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Japanese インテリジェント・デザイン, 知能設計
- インテリジェント・デザイン (interijento dezain)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
- 知能設計 (chinō-sekkei)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
Korean 지적 설계
- 지적 설계 (jijeok seolgye)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
Latvian apzināta radīšana
- apzināta radīšanaintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Norwegian intelligent design
- intelligent designintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Polish teoria inteligentnego projektu
- teoria inteligentnego projektuintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Portuguese design inteligente
- design inteligenteintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Romanian design inteligent
- design inteligentintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Russian разу́мный за́мысел
- разу́мный за́мысел (razúmnyj zámysel)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
Spanish diseño inteligente
- diseño inteligenteintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Swedish intelligent design
- intelligent designintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Tagalog matalinong disenyo
- matalinong disenyointelligent design / Intelligent Design
Turkish akıllı tasarım
- akıllı tasarımintelligent design / Intelligent Design
Yiddish אינטעליזשענט דעזיין
- אינטעליזשענט דעזיין (intelizhent dezayn)intelligent design / Intelligent Design
Cite this entry
intelligent design. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intelligent%20design
“intelligent design.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intelligent%20design. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “intelligent design,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intelligent%20design.
Source: intelligent design on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.