natural selection

What is the opposite of natural selection? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.

Noun — The process by which living things with traits better suited to their environment tend to survive and have more offspring, so that those traits become more common in later generations.

We haven't recorded synonyms for natural selection yet. You can still read its full definition, where it comes from, or words that rhyme with it.

How to use natural selection

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

by natural selection the theory of natural selection natural selection acts on pressure of natural selection

Standard scientific term, familiar in general writing.

Etymology

Coined by British biologist Charles Darwin in 1859 in his work On the Origin of Species.

Full origin of natural selection →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between natural selection and evolution?

Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of populations over generations. Natural selection is one mechanism that drives it, alongside others such as genetic drift, mutation and migration. Natural selection is the how; evolution is the what.

What is the difference between natural selection and artificial selection?

Both change which traits become common, but the filter differs. In natural selection the environment does the selecting through survival and reproduction; in artificial selection humans choose which individuals breed, as with dog breeds and crop varieties.

Is 'survival of the fittest' the same thing?

It is a popular but misleading paraphrase. 'Fittest' here means best fitted to a particular environment, not strongest or fastest, and what really counts is reproductive success rather than mere survival.

Nearby words

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