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evolutionarily

evolutionarily

4 7.7
In a way that shows how living things change over many generations
  • adverb
  • /ˌɛvəˈluːʃənˌɛrɪli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : evolutivamente
  • So the humans are really evolutionarily designed to grow, mature and reproduce.
  • evolutionarily conserved
  • evolutionarily significant
  • evolutionarily important

Irony of ironies, but that's the way an evolutionarily derived mind works.

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Examples

  • Aunt Lindsay had done her dissertation on how the shape of African termite mounds was evolutionarily designed to communicate with other termite colonies.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Biological communities that evolve in the storm paths are evolutionarily adapted to respond to these periodic natural disturbances.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Sharks are evolutionarily older than trees.

  • These are our ancestors, and evolutionarily they were selected because they were leading the group.

  • Where could such an organelle come from evolutionarily speaking?

  • And my point was, evolutionarily speaking, this looks like a pleiotropic effect.

  • There are socially maladaptive behaviors that were evolutionarily useful but now, not so much.

    Blog text (28)
  • For a population to be considered an ESU, it must differ from other populations in an evolutionarily important way.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Evolutionarily, surviving blood loss and dehydration is more critical than extending old age.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Sharks are evolutionarily older than trees, showing how some species have existed much longer than others.

Synonyms

phylogenetically
vsevolutionarily
  • Specialized
1 9.9

In a way that shows species have the same ancestor

relates to biological change explained by long-term natural processes

How Time-Based

diachronically
  • Specialized
8.6
evolutionarily
  • Specialized
4 7.7
historically
266 3.8
synchronically
  • Specialized
7.9

Surface Forms

evolutionarily positive

Morphology

evolutionarily = evolutionary (transparent) = evolution + ary + ly

Formed by adding -ly to the adjective 'evolutionary', so the adverbial meaning is predictably derived from 'evolution'/'evolutionary'.

Etymology

Evolutionarily comes from evolution and the verb evolve, which mean 'to unfold' or 'to change slowly', like a leaf opening. So when we say something is evolutionarily explained, we mean it is shown by long, slow changes that helped living things survive.