eugenicist

noun

eu·​gen·​i·​cist yü-ˈje-nə-sist How to pronounce eugenicist (audio)
: a student or advocate of eugenics

Examples of eugenicist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hill devotes chapters to ensuring readers understand the wider context of facial recognition technology, exploring, for example, its sordid eugenicist origins. Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023 At the time, deaf people across the country had been targeted by eugenicists who wanted to establish sterilization laws to prevent them from having children. Claire Healy, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 Landowners, county officials and even farmers of differing nationalities ranked migrants — Japanese, Indians, Filipinos, Mexicans and eventually Black southerners — in terms that would be familiar to white eugenicists. Janet Wilson, ProPublica, 9 Nov. 2023 In the 1970s, UVA’s University Health System acquired properties from Black owners in the Gospel Hill neighborhood to build Jordan Hall, named after the former medical school dean and prominent eugenicist Harvey E. Jordan. Louis Hansen, ProPublica, 11 Sep. 2023 Earlier this month, the Washington Post published a ghastly report about a brain collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington that was amassed by an early 20th century eugenicist to support his racist theories. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023 In 2021, the American Psychological Association issued a public apology and resolution noting psychology’s roots in eugenicist and racist ideas and the negative impact that the field has had on communities of color. Annie Ma, Detroit Free Press, 2 June 2023 The centuries-long cultural campaign in favor of procreation is one side of a historically eugenicist coin, and the other is even darker. Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023 For example, a few months ago Chris Mooney was accused of being a eugenicist because of the nature of his arguments in The Republican Brain. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2012

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eugenicist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of eugenicist was circa 1909

Dictionary Entries Near eugenicist

Cite this Entry

“Eugenicist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eugenicist. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

eugenicist

noun
eu·​gen·​i·​cist -ˈjen-ə-səst How to pronounce eugenicist (audio)
: a student or advocate of eugenics
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!