heritability Definition
the extent to which a characteristic or trait is genetically determined.
Using heritability: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "heritability" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The heritability of height is estimated to be around 80%.
Example
Studies have shown that intelligence has a high degree of heritability.
Example
The heritability of certain diseases can be influenced by environmental factors.
heritability Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms for heritability
- genetic influence
- inherited trait
- hereditary factor
Phrases with heritability
narrow-sense heritability
the proportion of phenotypic variance that is due to additive genetic variance
Example
Narrow-sense heritability is used to estimate the response to selection.
broad-sense heritability
the proportion of phenotypic variance that is due to all genetic variance
Example
Broad-sense heritability includes both additive and non-additive genetic effects.
a measure of the proportion of phenotypic variance that is due to genetic variance
Example
The heritability coefficient ranges from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater genetic influence.
Summary: heritability in Brief
'Heritability' [ˌherətəˈbɪləti] refers to the extent to which a characteristic or trait is genetically determined. It is often used to describe the proportion of phenotypic variance that is due to genetic variance, such as in the case of height or intelligence. 'Heritability' can be further classified into narrow-sense and broad-sense heritability, and is measured using a heritability coefficient.
