neoteny

«neoteny» in Mova's school dictionary: Keeping young or baby-like features after growing up, in… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (neoteny — uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

(science) Keeping young or baby-like features after growing up, in animals or people. tree →

sense in the lessons

A biology word: the axolotl, a Mexican salamander, keeps its feathery gills and stays in water all its life, a famous case of neoteny. Scientists say dogs show neoteny compared with wolves (floppy ears, playfulness), and humans have flat faces and big heads, like young apes.

examples

• The axolotl is a famous example of neoteny. tree →
• Neoteny means an animal keeps baby features as an adult. tree →
• Some scientists think puppy-like dogs show neoteny. tree →
• Our science teacher explained neoteny using salamanders. tree →
• Humans show some neoteny compared with chimpanzees. tree →
• Because of neoteny, the axolotl keeps its gills. tree →
• Neoteny can make adult animals look cute. tree →

note

Uncountable, a specialist science word. Pronounced "nee-OT-uh-nee". From Greek "neo" (new, young). Adjective: "neotenous".

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «neoteny» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.