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.
Listening to Xiu Xiu’s “Eraserhead” on a hot and stormy Friday afternoon is an atavistic summoning of the many gifts that David Lynch left us to remember him by.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
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
Sorry you couldn’t experience this atavistic joy of cooking, Jackie.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
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
Vocabulary lists containing atavistic
Into the Wild
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Fences
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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