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.
Like our atavistic cravings for fat and sugar, many cognitive biases also may have made more sense in an earlier environment—what Mr. Jones calls “time-shifted rationality.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
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
“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
Yet that does nothing to diminish the totemic power they wield over us, which is an expression of the unquestioned, atavistic nature of belief.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023
Except in some atavistic part of his brain, he knows exactly what they’ll do.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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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