atavistic

[ at-uh-vis-tik ]
/ ˌæt əˈvɪs tɪk /
SEE 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

OTHER WORDS FROM atavistic

at·a·vis·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby atavistic

atascadero, ataturk, kemal, atatürk, atavic, atavism, atavistic, ataxia, ataxia telangiectasia, ataxiaphasia, ataxic, ataxic abasia

Words related to atavistic

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

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, adverb

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.