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
But many women called it a put-down, an atavistic reaction to the feminist movement.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
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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