atavism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Millet plays with the title and with the idea of atavism, in which an ancient trait asserts itself by skipping forward a few generations to suddenly appear in the gene pool.

From Los Angeles Times

If you don’t agree with them then you’re an ignorant, misogynistic and probably racist atavism.

From Salon

Democrats treated patriotism as an unpleasant atavism that we need to get over.

From Salon

They think illiberal authoritarianism — “made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science,” to quote Winston Churchill — is the wave of the future, not an atavism from the past.

From Seattle Times

A fervent believer in atavism, he was particularly drawn to the fine-tuned measurement of the skull as an indicator of the savage proclivities of man.

From Salon