atavistic
[ at-uh-vis-tik ]
/ ˌæt əˈvɪs tɪk /
adjective
of, relating to, or characterized by atavism; reverting to or suggesting the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type.
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OTHER WORDS FROM atavistic
at·a·vis·ti·cal·ly, adverbWords nearby atavistic
atascadero, ataturk, kemal, atatürk, atavic, atavism, atavistic, ataxia, ataxia telangiectasia, ataxiaphasia, ataxic, ataxic abasia
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for atavistic
British Dictionary definitions for atavistic
atavistic
/ (ˌætəˈvɪstɪk) /
adjective
of or relating to reversion to a former or more primitive type
Derived forms of atavistic
atavistically, adverbCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for atavistic
atavistic
[ ăt′ə-vĭs′tĭk ]
Relating to an inherited trait that reappears in an individual after being absent from a strain of organism for several generations. Atavistic traits were formerly thought to be throwbacks to ancestral types but are now known to be due to the inheritance of a pair of recessive genes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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