saltationism

S1A1L1T1A1T1I1O1N1I1S1M3

noun

The belief that evolution operates by the sudden development of new species or biological features from one generation to the next.

Scrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsaltationism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableevolutionary theoryThe belief that evolution operates by the sudden development of new species or biological features from one generation to the next.

    Gould has misled himself by his own rhetorical emphasis on the purely poetic or literary resemblance between punctuationism, on the one hand, and true saltationism on the other.

    1986, Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker, W. W. Norton & Company, published 2015, →ISBN

Origin

From saltation + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Portuguese saltacionismo
  • saltacionismothe belief that evolution operates by the sudden development of new species or biological features
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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