atavistic

[at-uh-vis-tik]

See more synonyms for atavistic on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by atavism; reverting to or suggesting the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type.

Origin of atavistic

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

Related formsat·a·vis·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for atavistic

simple, naive, rudimentary, underdeveloped, unsophisticated, undeveloped, savage, natural, barbarian, raw, animal, wild, rough, austere, barbarous, childlike, fierce, ignorant, rude, uncivilized

Examples from the Web for atavistic

Contemporary Examples of atavistic

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
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
These atavistic triggers, however, aren't very satisfying explanations taken alone.
The Afghanistan-Kyrgyzstan Connection
Thomas Goltz
June 19, 2010

Historical Examples of atavistic

This is of great importance in view of the atavistic origin of crime.
Criminal Man
Gina Lombroso-Ferrero
It is only an atavistic phenomenon, the return to a former state.
Criminal Man
Gina Lombroso-Ferrero
The criminal is an atavistic being, a relic of a vanished race.
Criminal Man
Gina Lombroso-Ferrero
Citizen Howard Temple-Tracy is a dangerous, atavistic, evil genius.
Gun for Hire
Dallas McCord Reynolds
Perhaps it is atavistic—this desire to rest and swing in a hamaca.
Edge of the Jungle
William Beebe

British Dictionary definitions for atavistic

atavistic

adjective

of or relating to reversion to a former or more primitive type

Derived Formsatavistically, 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

Word Origin and History for atavistic

adj.

"pertaining to atavism," 1847; see atavism + -ic.

atavistic in Science

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.