Meaning & use
Apomorphic
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In evolutionary biology, describing a trait or character state that is derived, meaning it has evolved away from the ancestral (plesiomorphic) condition.
See it in a sentence
Feathers are considered an apomorphic trait shared by birds and their closest dinosaur relatives.
The researchers mapped which characters were apomorphic and which were ancestral across the family tree.
A note on using this word
"Apomorphic" is a core term in cladistics, the field that classifies organisms based on shared derived characteristics; it contrasts directly with "plesiomorphic," which describes ancestral traits.
Words with a similar meaning
derived
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
plesiomorphicancestral
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