Neanderthal

[ nee-an-der-thawl, -tawl, -tahl; ney-ahn-der-tahl ]

/ niˈæn dərˌθɔl, -ˌtɔl, -ˌtɑl; neɪˈɑn dərˌtɑl /

Save This Word!

adjective

of or relating to Neanderthal man.

(often lowercase)Informal. primitive, unenlightened, or reactionary; culturally or intellectually backward.

noun

Neanderthal man.

(often lowercase)Informal.

an unenlightened or ignorant person; barbarian.
a reactionary; a person with very old-fashioned ideas.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also Ne·an·der·tal

[nee-an-der-tawl, -tahl; ney-ahn-der-tahl] /niˈæn dərˌtɔl, -ˌtɑl; neɪˈɑn dərˌtɑl/ (for defs. 1, 3).

Origin of Neanderthal

First recorded in 1860–65; after Neanderthal, valley in Germany, near Düsseldorf, where evidence of Neanderthal man was first found

OTHER WORDS FROM Neanderthal

Ne·an·der·thal·er, noun

Words nearby Neanderthal

Ne, NE1, N.E.A., Neagh, Neal, Neanderthal, Neanderthal man, Neanderthaloid, neanic, neanthropic, neap

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

How to use Neanderthal in a sentence

The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking — that, 'In the meantime, everything’s fine.
House scraps plans for Thursday session after security officials warn of possible plot to breach Capitol|Felicia Sonmez, Colby Itkowitz, John Wagner|March 4, 2021|Washington Post
All these months later, the apparent changes in how this organization operates mean Washington, of all franchises — Neanderthal for so long on so many fronts — is actually now a leader.
Washington’s front office looks nothing like it ever has before. That’s a reason for hope.|Barry Svrluga|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
He did some of the first studies of Neanderthal bones, and founded Germany’s first anthropological society and journal.
Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives - Issue 93: Forerunners|Alan Lightman, Hope Jahren, Robert Sapolsky,|December 2, 2020|Nautilus
That changed when in 2010 the first nuclear genome revealed that, rather than their being distant cousins we’d shoved aside by 40,000 years ago, ancient interbreeding had left a genetic Neanderthal legacy in most living people.
Much of What We Thought About Neanderthals Was Wrong. Here’s Why That Matters|Rebecca Wragg Sykes|October 27, 2020|Time

Comparison of Modern Human and Neanderthal skulls from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Not-so-hostile takeover: Human Y chromosome displaced the Neanderthals’ version|Kiona N. Smith|September 24, 2020|Ars Technica
Early on, the sexual protagonist complains that her Molson-drinking husband is pretty much an incompetent Neanderthal.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If you think of yourself as more than a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, you can stand up and be respectful.
Hey, Creeps, ‘Compliments’ Are Harassment, Too|Tauriq Moosa|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“He was no Neanderthal,” says former U.S. senator Richard Bryan.
The Cowboy Sheriff of Las Vegas Rides Into ‘Mob Museum’|John L. Smith|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Scientists extract complete Neanderthal genome from fossil—97 percent match to A&E programming.
Up to a Point: 2013 in Review and Predictions for 2014|P. J. O’Rourke|January 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There have been many posts lately about countries with maternity/paternity leave, it's depressing how Neanderthal America seems.
Why I Choose to Be Child-Free: Readers Share Their Stories|Harry Siegel|February 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Early the next morning a little band of Neanderthal men descended the escarpment and set out toward the rising sun.
Warrior of the Dawn|Howard Carleton Browne
Silently each Neanderthal man stepped behind a trunk of one of the trees lining the path.
Warrior of the Dawn|Howard Carleton Browne
Neanderthal man had a very large head with heavy, overhanging eyebrows meeting above the nose, and a markedly retreating forehead.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler
One hundred thousand years of human life in Europe produced nothing higher than Neanderthal man.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler
And we are not so far from that ancestor as to have eliminated not indeed Neanderthal, but Neanderthaloid types.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells

British Dictionary definitions for Neanderthal

Neanderthal

/ (nɪˈændəˌtɑːl) sometimes not capital /

adjective

relating to or characteristic of Neanderthal man

primitive; uncivilized

informal ultraconservative; reactionary

noun

a person showing any such characteristics

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 Neanderthal

Neanderthal

[ nē-ăn′dər-thôl′, -tôl′ ]

Neandertal

(nē-ăn′dər-tôl′)

An extinct variety of human that lived throughout Europe and in parts of western Asia and northern Africa during the late Pleistocene Epoch, until about 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals had a stocky build and large skulls with thick eyebrow ridges and big teeth. They usually lived in caves, made flaked stone tools, and were the earliest humans known to bury their dead. Neanderthals were either a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a separate, closely related species (Homo neanderthalensis). They coexisted with early modern humans (Cro-Magnons) for several thousand years before becoming extinct, but are not generally believed to have interbred with them. See also Mousterian.

Cultural definitions for Neanderthal

Neanderthal

[ (nee-an-duhr-thawl, nee-an-duhr-tawl) ]

The ancient and now extinct relatives of modern humans. Neanderthals lived in Europe about 150,000 years ago and were the earliest form of the human species, Homo sapiens.

notes for Neanderthal

The term Neanderthal is sometimes used to refer to a person who is thought to have primitive or unenlightened ideas: “I tried talking politics to Joe, but he's a real Neanderthal.”