Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Indeed, what emerges from these impeccably researched, coolly absorbing volumes are two Margaret Thatchers, whom we might call the scientist and the atavist.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 25, 2019

The atavist had been happy to be called a “reactionary,” before she became Prime Minister.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 25, 2019

The atavist was the possessor of what one colleague called “a very English Englishness”: she didn’t sacrifice Scotland and Wales as part of a Conservative strategy; she hardly noticed they were there.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 25, 2019

An aristocratic atavist, Alfonso never questioned his right to be a king, never ducked his regal responsibilities as he saw them.

From Time Magazine Archive

He could be an atavist, a victim of unconscious regression.

From Strange Alliance by McNutt, Charles