1. the study of factors that reduce the fitness or health of a population or species; the opposite of eugenics
Usage: technical; often used in biology and genetics contexts; historically associated with discredited pseudoscientific theories

Examples

• The biologist warned that pollution and habitat destruction represent dysgenics for endangered species.
• Some early 20th-century scientists incorrectly applied concepts of dysgenics to human populations.
• Modern conservation efforts aim to prevent dysgenics in wildlife populations through careful breeding programs.
• The term dysgenics is rarely used in contemporary scientific literature without historical context.