How to Use polymorphism in a Sentence

polymorphism

noun
  • Some people have a polymorphism that instructs their body to create two of the same enzyme instead of just one.
    C. Michael White, The Conversation, 4 Oct. 2021
  • We’re made to believe Jack-Jack’s power is polymorphism.
    Shannon Liao, The Verge, 16 June 2018
  • The campaign uses a technique called polymorphism to blast out hundreds of thousands of unique samples.
    Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 10 Dec. 2020
  • Some of us have a polymorphism, a genetic variant that slows our metabolism for caffeine.
    Dawn MacKeen, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2020
  • Each variant has a version (more precisely, one of the alleles in a single nucleotide polymorphism) associated with a small boost to the trait in question.
    Charles Murray, WSJ, 27 Jan. 2020
  • These sites are called single nucleotide polymorphisms — a.k.a.
    Brian Resnick, Vox, 27 Oct. 2018
  • This polymorphism is characterized by a derived allele that is present at a high frequency in East Asian populations, but is absent in other population groups.
    Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2010
  • The genetic differences picked out are often things called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are places in the genome where a lone pair of bases, the chemical letters in which genetic messages are written, can vary between individuals.
    The Economist, 28 June 2018
  • Abnormal changes in these base pairs, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, might be the root causes of most noninfectious human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis.
    Brian Alexander, WIRED, 1 June 2000
  • Using about 50 different variations — single-nucleotide polymorphisms (otherwise known as SNPs) — researchers created a risk score.
    Aaron E. Carroll, New York Times, 12 Dec. 2016
  • This technique relies on datasets that compare single nucleotide polymorphisms—differences in DNA nucleotides that act as biological markers among individuals.
    Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 14 June 2017
  • My proposals on mutation strategies...—see also Amos...—lead to rather precise insights on compensatory mutations or polymorphism propagation, yet they are largely ignored by population geneticists.
    Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2010

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polymorphism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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