adaptationist

adjective

ad·​ap·​ta·​tion·​ist ˌa-ˌdap-ˈtā-sh(ə-)nist 

-dəp-

: explaining or seeking to explain the evolution of traits in terms of their adaptive function or survival value

adaptationist noun

Examples of adaptationist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This might seem obvious at a personal level, but Miller explores it from an adaptationist perspective, as a force for the evolution of certain traits. — Paul Bloom, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2019

But in 1968, the famed population geneticist Motoo Kimura resisted the adaptationist perspective with his neutral theory of molecular evolution. — Quanta Magazine, 8 Nov. 2018

The biologists who most militantly defend the adaptationist Darwinian view of evolution, such as Richard Dawkins, do not gladly suffer dissent. — David Dobbs, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2017

Word History

Etymology

adaptation + -ist entry 2

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for adaptationist

• conservationist
• educationist
• integrationist
• isolationist
• segregationist
• assimilationist
• creationist