parallel evolution
noun
: the independent development of similar traits or features (as of body structure or behavior) in different species or lineages that have common ancestry and that typically occupy similar environments or ecological niches : parallelism sense 5 compare convergent evolution, divergent evolution
Examples of parallel evolution in a Sentence
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Variants continually compete in a veritable survival of the fittest, acquiring the same or similar mutations through a form of parallel evolution known as convergent evolution.
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Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 19 Dec. 2023
Hung traces the parallel evolution of Beijing’s determination to make Hong Kong’s people accept assimilation into China and the local development of a proud, separate identity.
—Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
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Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 19 Dec. 2023
Hung traces the parallel evolution of Beijing’s determination to make Hong Kong’s people accept assimilation into China and the local development of a proud, separate identity.
—Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Parallel evolution.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parallel%20evolution. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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