natural selection

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In this view, harmful mutations are usually removed by natural selection, while truly beneficial mutations are so rare that most lasting molecular changes are expected to be neutral.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2026

Charles Darwin, with his ideas of undirected variation and natural selection, described what was really happening.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

That was assumed to be the result of a natural selection.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

The theoretical approach, which studies human behavior, cognition and emotions as products of natural selection, depicts relationship formation as sales-like, highly gendered and strategy-based.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

We and our pathogens are now locked in an escalating evolutionary contest, with the death of one contestant the price of defeat, and with natural selection playing the role of umpire.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond