Meanings
plural unilineal evolutions
- uncountableusuallyanthropologyThe theory, now considered obsolete, that societies evolve in a single direction toward complexity, progress, and civilization.
Of course, when we speak in broadly evolutionary terms, to do so need not imply the simplistic notion of unilineal evolution, with the suggestion that human developments always follow the same sequential pattern.
2008, Colin Renfrew, Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind, Modern Library, →ISBN, page 89Synonyms: unilinear evolution
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe theory, now considered obsolete, that societies evolve in a single direction toward complexity, progress, and civilization.
Cite this entry
unilineal evolution. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unilineal%20evolution
“unilineal evolution.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unilineal%20evolution. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unilineal evolution,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unilineal%20evolution.
Source: unilineal evolution on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.