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spontaneous generation

noun

Definition of spontaneous generation

: a now discredited notion that living organisms spontaneously originate directly from nonliving matter A difficulty that we have forgotten lay in the widespread belief in spontaneous generation. Aristotle had written that flies, worms, and other small animals originated spontaneously from putrefying matter.— Daniel J. Boorstin

Examples of spontaneous generation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 By the late 19th century, writes Encyclopedia Britannica, scientists had ceased to believe that, for instance, cheese could spontaneously generate mice, but spontaneous generation at the microbial level was still accepted. — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, "How Sheep’s Blood Helped Disprove This Wacky Nineteenth-Century Theory of Illness," 13 June 2017

First Known Use of spontaneous generation

1665, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for spontaneous generation

spontaneous generation

noun

Medical Definition of spontaneous generation

: abiogenesis

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