eugenics

noun

eu·​gen·​ics yü-ˈje-niks 

plural in form but singular in construction

: the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations (as by sterilization) to improve the populations' genetic composition

In 1883 Francis Galton, in England, coined the term "eugenics" to encompass the idea of modification of natural selection through selective breeding for the improvement of humankind …

—Jeremiah A. Barondess

A half-century ago, eugenics became associated with Hitler, genocide and master-race theories, and its reputation has never recovered.

—Dan Seligman

After the Second World War, "eugenics" became a word to be hedged with caveats in Britain and virtually a dirty word in the United States, where it had long been identified with racism.

—Daniel J. Kevles

Examples of eugenics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Of the 45 people approved for reparations so far, just three were sterilized during the eugenics era. —Adam Beam, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2023

Alexandra Stern, a professor of medical history at the University of Michigan, has put the number of people sterilized due to eugenics policies between the early 1900s and 1970s at a massive 60,000 people in 32 states. —Janell Ross, Time, 9 Dec. 2022

Under the 20th-century eugenics policies, University of Michigan obstetrics and gynecology professor Alexandra Minna Stern found, about 60,000 people underwent compulsory sterilizations nationwide. —USA Today, 11 Aug. 2022

The eugenics movement sought to prevent some people with mental illness or physical disabilities from being able to have children. —Adam Beam, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

eugenics

noun

eu·​gen·​ics yu̇-ˈjen-iks 

: the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations to improve the population's genetic composition

Medical Definition

eugenics

noun, plural in form but singular in construction

eu·​gen·​ics yu̇-ˈjen-iks 

: the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations (as by sterilization) to improve the populations' genetic composition