malthusian

malthusian — adjective

1. connected to the ideas of Thomas Malthus, who argued that people reproduce faste

1.形容詞C1
釋義

connected to the ideas of Thomas Malthus, who argued that people reproduce faster than they can produce food, so that without limits on population growth, widespread hunger and suffering are unavoidable

例句

Yael's economics paper examined whether modern famines follow a Malthusian pattern.

Malthusian pattern — noun after the adjective

Critics say that Malthusian predictions ignore how farming technology has increased food supplies.

Malthusian predictions — common collocation in academic debate

同義詞
  • neo-Malthusian

    refers to a modern version of Malthus's ideas, often applied to environmental concerns

  • population-related

    much broader — covers any demographic topic, not specifically Malthus's theory

文法句型

Malthusian + noun

用法筆記

Always capitalised because it derives from a proper name (Thomas Malthus). Used only before a noun — you cannot say 'this theory is very Malthusian' as a gradable adjective.

常見錯誤

Malthusian theory is about general population statistics.
Malthusian theory is about the relationship between population growth and food supply.
💡Malthusian theory is a specific idea, not about all population data.
Darwin was influenced by Malthusian.
Darwin was influenced by Malthusian theory.
💡Malthusian is an adjective, not a noun. The noun form is 'Malthusianism'.