How to Use mutualism in a Sentence

mutualism

noun
  • The new study found that there was a mutualism to the behavior.
    Eva Botkin-Kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Other living things have evolved to snatch up the rewards of mutualism with none of the costs.
    Kristin Ohlson, Discover Magazine, 2 Jan. 2019
  • There’s sort of a little mutualism there between Darwin and Bates, Darwin didn't have the kind of evidence Bates had.
    Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian, 21 Apr. 2017
  • There’s sort of a little mutualism there between Darwin and Bates, Darwin didn't have the kind of evidence Bates had.
    Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian, 21 Apr. 2017
  • As expected, the mutualisms had a destabilizing effect on the system.
    Quanta Magazine, 26 Sep. 2018
  • Anyone who has hiked in a forest may have noted lichens formed from a union of fungi and algae, without realizing that these are prime examples of mutualism.
    Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022
  • And both fig and fig wasp are utterly reliant on one another to survive—a phenomenon called mutualism.
    Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Nevertheless, Coyte doesn’t rule out the possibility of the balanced mutualisms that O’Dwyer and Butler modeled.
    Quanta Magazine, 26 Sep. 2018
  • Draymond and Golden State are perhaps the best example of mutualism in the basketball world, and both sides should be happy their relationship will continue.
    Rohan Nadkarni, SI.com, 3 Aug. 2019
  • Research has backed up the efficacy of this mutualism: Coyotes and badgers that hunt together are both more effective at getting food.
    National Geographic, 5 Feb. 2020
  • That’s an example of mutualism, a term for whenever one animal helps another.
    Erika Larsen, National Geographic, 1 Oct. 2020
  • This is an example of mutualism, in which animals of different species work together to meet their individual needs.
    National Geographic, 14 Feb. 2020
  • The study, published online ahead of print for the journal Geology, also provides early evidence for mutualism between plants and animals.
    Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 9 Mar. 2018
  • Power and temptation cause shifts between exploitation and cooperation in a cleaner wrasse mutualism, Proc.
    Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 24 Apr. 2013
  • If true, the phenomenon could be considered mutualism, Zduniak says—a reciprocal behavior among species that benefits both parties.
    Nizamettin Yavuz, National Geographic, 17 Aug. 2017
  • This is synergy, mutualism and adaptation awaiting rediscovery on the mainland.
    The New York Times, NOLA.com, 4 July 2017
  • This metabolic mutualism helps trees to survive in all kinds of different environmental conditions and expand their ecological niche.
    Quanta Magazine, 19 Dec. 2022
  • Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change.
    Gwen Pearson, WIRED, 24 Sep. 2015
  • But there’s also metabolic mutualism — the acquisition of metabolism through this really intimate partnership between two organisms.
    Quanta Magazine, 19 Dec. 2022

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

Last Updated: