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Definition of "dysgenics" [dysgenics]

  • The biological study of the factors producing degeneration in offspring, especially of a particular race or species. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "dysgenics" in a sentence
  • "The term 'dysgenics' was first used by David Starr Jordan in 1915 when he postulated that wars killed off the fitter men while the less fit were left at home."
  • "Claims about dysgenics usually quickly degenerate into a big debate about nature vs. nurture."
  • "It takes multiple centuries for dysgenics to inflict a significant toll or, on the flip side, traditional eugenics to achieve anything; history is now moving too quickly for that sort of thing to be relevant."