eugenics

[yoo-jen-iks] /yuˈdʒɛn ɪks/
noun, (used with a singular verb)
1.
the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics)
Origin
1880-85; see eugenic, -ics
Examples from the web for eugenics
  • The topic of the day was eugenics.
  • He did all this in the name of his brainchild, eugenics.
  • For instance, eugenics was once all the rage among scientists.
  • The two friends certainly did share a strong interest in eugenics.
  • Critics are raising the eugenics card, and advocates of the disabledare skeptical at the very least.
  • The exhibit tells of a eugenics movement that sought to apply principles from Darwin and animal husbandry to humans.
  • They were also philosophic soul mates, both interested in eugenics and the perfection of the species.
  • This is a case study in eugenics.
  • In the last century, eugenics was about the exercise of power and ideology.
  • Without her lunatic eugenics, the show would leave virtually no impression at all.
British Dictionary definitions for eugenics

eugenics

/juːˈdʒɛnɪks/
noun
1.
(functioning as sing) the study of methods of improving the quality of the human race, esp by selective breeding
Derived Forms
eugenic, adjective
eugenically, adverb
eugenicist, noun
eugenist (ˈjuːdʒənɪst) noun, adjective
Word Origin
C19: from Greek eugenēs well-born, from eu- + -genēs born; see -gen
Word Origin and History for eugenics
n.

1883, coined (along with adjective eugenic) by English scientist Francis Galton (1822-1911) on analogy of ethics, physics, etc. from Greek eugenes "well-born, of good stock, of noble race," from eu- "good" (see eu-) + genos "birth" (see genus).

The investigation of human eugenics, that is, of the conditions under which men of a high type are produced. [Galton, "Human Faculty," 1883]

eugenics in Medicine

eugenics eu·gen·ics (yōō-jěn'ĭks)
n.
The study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding.

eugenics in Culture
eugenics [(yooh-jen-iks)]

The idea that one can improve the human race by careful selection of those who mate and produce offspring.

Note: Eugenics was a popular theory in the early twentieth century but is no longer taken seriously, primarily because of the horrors of the eugenic efforts of the Nazi regime in Germany.