Wiktionary

biological

English

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Etymology

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From biology +‎ -ical.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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biological (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to biology.
    • 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 21 June 2017, page 162:
      He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair.
    • 2021 June 2, Laurel Wamsley, “A Guide To Gender Identity Terms”, in NPR‎[2]:
      Sex refers to a person's biological status and is typically assigned at birth, usually on the basis of external anatomy.
    • 2023 April 4, Annabelle Dickson, “UK minister mulling law change to define sex as ‘biological’”, in Politico Europe‎[3]:
      Transgender rights advocates and many experts argue, however, that strict definitions of sex based on anatomy at birth can miss biological nuances.
  2. Relating to anatomy; anatomic, anatomical.
    • 2020 June 15, Kim Elsesser, “The Myth Of Biological Sex”, in Forbes‎[4]:
      Many who oppose transgender rights believe that gender is determined solely by biological sex. But, biological sex isn’t as straightforward as they likely think, and there is no one parameter that makes a person biologically male or female. In fact, many conditions make assigning a biological sex quite difficult.
    • 2023 April 14, Aubrie Spady, “'That is a fraud': Gov. DeSantis calls out Lia Thomas, biological men competing in women's sports”, in Fox News‎[5]:
      Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential contender in the 2024 presidential race, called out a biological male swimmer who competed in and won the women's NCAA championships against his female competitors in 2022.
  3. Related by consanguinity, especially as to parents and children.
    Coordinate term: adoptive
    biological mother
    biological father
  4. (nonstandard, proscribed, non-native speakers' English) Organic (grown without agrochemicals).
    • 2013, J. Hemmelskamp, K. Rennings, F. Leone, editors, Innovation-Oriented Environmental Regulation: Theoretical Approaches and Empirical Analysis, page 49:
      The market for cosmetics with natural ingredients in which the body shop is so successful is still a small one, as is the market for biological food products (1 per cent in the Netherlands).

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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biological (plural biologicals)

  1. (rare) A biological product.
    • 1917, A.B.C. Course on Biologicals, Indianapolis: Eli Lilly and Company, page 5:
      This elementary treatise on biologicals was designed primarily for the instruction of Lilly salesmen to enable them to handle the biological line intelligently.
    • 1984 June 7, Audre Lorde, correspondence, quoted in 1987, A Burst of Light:
      Iscador is a biological made from mistletoe which strengthens the natural immune system, and works against the growth of malignant cells.
    • 2008 October 21, The Associated Press, “1 in 4 new bio meds cause serious side effects”, in NBC News‎[6]:
      Researchers found that most of the warnings came within five years after these biologicals won government approval in the United States and Europe between 1995 and 2007.

See also

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