retrogression
- noun
- /ˌrɛtrəˈɡrɛʃən/
- Specialized
:
retroceso
- In biology, retrogression often indicates a stage where organisms lose their complex structures and functions.
Examples
-
The study of retrogression in certain species reveals how they can revert to simpler forms over time.
-
Researchers noted the retrogression of the population's traits, as they adapted to a simpler environment.
-
At first, the initiate will observe Nigredo, or retrogression, during which components are relegated to primary constituents.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
17
7.6
A return to an earlier, less developed state in behaviour or skills
8
6.7
A process in which a living part, like an organ, becomes simpler and less useful
1
7.9
The return of an earlier physical trait in plants or animals
A stage in embryo development when features from ancestors appear
Antonyms
- Specialized
377
4.4
Gradual change in living things over many generations caused by nature
How Regressive
8
7.5
1
8.3
- Specialized
17
7.6
- Specialized
3
6.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
retrogression = retrogress (transparent) = retro + gress + ion
Standard noun formation from 'retrogress' meaning reversal or backward movement; the biological sense is an application of that general meaning.
Etymology
Retrogression combines the parts retro- meaning 'back' and gress meaning 'step', the same root you find in progress. So in biology, retrogression describes a 'step back' when an organism or system returns to a simpler form.