MALTHUSIAN

[Mal.thu.sian] adj [Thomas R. Malthus] (1821): of or relating to Malthus or to his theory that population tends to increase at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and that unless it is checked by moral restraint or disaster (as disease, famine, or war) widespread poverty and degradation inevitably result -- Malthusian n -- Mal.thu.sian.ism n