Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for natural selection. Search instead for naturflageolette.
Definitions

natural selection

[nach-er-uhl si-lek-shuhn, nach-ruhl] / ˈnætʃ ər əl sɪˈlɛk ʃən, ˈnætʃ rəl /
NOUN
evolutionary theory
Synonyms
WEAK
Darwinian theory Darwinism adaptation artificial selection biological evolution evolution evolutionism law of the jungle natural law phylogeny social Darwinism social evolution survival of the fittest theory of evolution

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.

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

Think of our astonishing good fortune to live on a planet capable of sustaining life for 4 billion years, allowing natural selection to create what Darwin called “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful.”

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025

Variation and natural selection offer cogent explanations of the mechanism by which evolution might occur within a species, but they do not explain the formation of species per se.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.