atavistic

[ at-uh-vis-tik ]

/ ˌæt əˈvɪs tɪk /

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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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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of atavistic

First recorded in 1870–75; atav(ism) + -istic

OTHER WORDS FROM atavistic

at·a·vis·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby atavistic

at a time, Atatürk, Ataturk, Kemal, atavic, atavism, atavistic, at a word, ataxia, ATB, Atbara, at bat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use atavistic in a sentence

This is because puzzles train us to be more rigorous thinkers, less swayed by atavistic emotions.
Doing Puzzles Can Help Solve Your Other Problems, Too|AJ Jacobs|May 5, 2022|Time
Sitting face to face with a Satmar man schooling her in atavistic Satmar rules was the last place she wanted to be.
How One Sex Abuse Case Tore Apart the Williamsburg Hasidim|Allison Yarrow|August 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
These councils have been seeking amendments in the Hindu Marriage Act to support their atavistic views.
India’s Fatal Rape Was Typical in a Country That Degrades Women|Anuradha Roy|January 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The anxiety over immigrants is partly rational, partly atavistic.
Migrant Mitzvahs|Gil Troy|June 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST

These atavistic triggers, however, aren't very satisfying explanations taken alone.
The Afghanistan-Kyrgyzstan Connection|Thomas Goltz|June 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
This return to something more primitive is an unhealthy atavistic tendency and makes for both racial and individual inferiority.
The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races|Sanger Brown, II
Deering was very human and fought against an atavistic shrinking from the dark and loneliness.
Northwest!|Harold Bindloss
My spine, too, like Conlon's, registered an authentic shiver of protest and atavistic fear.
The Book of Susan|Lee Wilson Dodd
War is old--atavistic, a confession of failure, evidence of retrogression.
Class of '29|Orrie Lashin and Milo Hastings
The probability, in this case, is that the atavistic variety will find its way into a pie, instead of being kept as a pet.
Stories of the Universe: Animal Life|B. Lindsay

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, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

atavistic

Origin of atavistic

OTHER WORDS FROM atavistic

Words nearby atavistic

Words related to atavistic

How to use atavistic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for atavistic

Derived forms of atavistic

Scientific definitions for atavistic