atavistic

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.

Tribal pull isn’t the brain’s only atavistic trait that struggles with modern life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025

“Parade,” which delves into antisemitism, systemic bias in our judicial system and the power of a wily demagogue to stoke atavistic hatred for self-gain, has a disconcerting timeliness.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025

But many women called it a put-down, an atavistic reaction to the feminist movement.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2021

Slow-moving and inarguably nutty, “Lamb” nevertheless wields its atavistic power with the straightest of faces, helped in no small measure by an Oscar-worthy cast of farm animals.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2021

Her palm lines do not branch into head, heart, and life lines like other people’s but crease with just one atavistic fold.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston