Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To develop or achieve gradually.
- intransitive verb To work (something) out; devise.
- intransitive verb Biology To develop (a characteristic) by evolutionary processes.
- intransitive verb To give off; emit.
- intransitive verb To undergo gradual change; develop.
- intransitive verb Biology To arise or transform through evolutionary processes.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To unfold; open and expand.
- To unfold or develop by a process of natural, consecutive, or logical growth from, or as if from, a germ, latent state, or plan.
- To unfold by elaboration; work out; bring forth or make manifest by action of any kind: as, to
evolve a drama from an anecdote; to evolve the truth from a mass of confused evidence; to evolve bad odors by stirring a muck-heap. - To open or disclose itself; become developed.
- In chem., geol., etc., to give off or make manifest by separation from a mixture or a compound: most commonly used of a gas or vapor: as hydrochloric-acid gas evolved from a mixture of common salt and sulphuric acid.
- In mathematics, to extract (roots).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To become open, disclosed, or developed; to pass through a process of evolution.
- transitive verb To unfold or unroll; to open and expand; to disentangle and exhibit clearly and satisfactorily; to develop; to derive; to educe.
- transitive verb To throw out; to emit.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To move in
regular procession through a system. - verb To
develop . - verb biology Of a
population , to changegenetic composition over successivegenerations through the process ofevolution .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb work out
- verb gain through experience
- verb undergo development or evolution
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When I use the term evolve, I don't mean going from a fish to a human; I mean internal progress of the soul, a moving forward rather than backward, learning and applying it.
George Elerick: Could Culture Emerge Out of a God Who Evolves? 2010
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Of course not; even the word evolve will evolve, or evolute.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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Of course not; even the word evolve will evolve, or evolute.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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Of course not; even the word evolve will evolve, or evolute.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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Of course not; even the word evolve will evolve, or evolute.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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The single word "evolve" is never meant as an explanation obviously; there is a huge literature describing all of the mechanisms of evolution.
Bunny and a Book 2008
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How did the characters evolve from the time you began imagining them?
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The generations of mankind did not evolve from the intermarrying of brothers and sisters, as some propose.
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Tasting a young Raveneau and knowing how it can evolve is also informative.
Wine Advocate Writers Spark Ethics Debate - Wall Street Journal | Dr Vino's wine blog 2009
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It is the strongest evidence yet that communication signals can evolve from the exaggeration and repetition of routine behaviours.
Caterpillar Warns of Danger … With Its Butt! | Impact Lab 2010
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