atavistic

UK/æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/

atavistic adjective: of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.

Adjective

atavistic (comparative more atavistic, superlative most atavistic)

Of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.
- Although the heterozygote gives it an atavistic appearance, the gene is not atavistic.1889, “Experiment Station Record”, in U.S, Office of Experiment Stations
- Thus the gene which produced atavistic digits in the vigorous heterozygous pentadactyl condition is a lethal monster in the homozygous condition.1946, Reginald Ruggles Gates, Human genetics
Synonyms:

atavistical
Of a throwback or exhibiting primitivism.
- They made me feel that I was alive in the nineteenth century, a sort of atavistic remnant, a romantic shred […]1934, Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer, Grove Press, published 1961
- The true perversion took place only in the privacy of her mind — the way she imagined an atavistic macho atop her when engaged in a mandatory contribution to the fetus-banks with some cretinous inept breeder…1979, Norman Spinrad, A world between
Synonyms:

atavistical
Relating to earlier, more primitive behavior that returns after an absence.

Synonyms:

atavistical

atavistic meaning in Urdu and Tagalog

atavistic in Urdu

جدی کردار

atavistic in Tagalog

biology: of the recurrence of a trait after an absence of generations: mapanauli
of a throwback: mapanauli
of the return of earlier, more primitive behavior: mapanauli

Examples of atavistic in a sentence

Reactivation of a dormant atavistic gene could account for the abnormal costocoracoid ligament in humans.2006, Roger E Stevenson, Judith G Hall, Human malformations and related anomalies:
Because I am atavistic enough to believe that drawing is the basic language of the illustrator, even as words comprise the basic language of the writer…2000, Steven Heller, Marshall Arisman, The education of an illustrator:

Synonyms of atavistic

atavistical

Forms of atavistic

comparative	more atavistic
superlative	most atavistic

Origin of atavistic

From atavism + -istic.

Words formed from atavistic

Words that rhyme with atavistic

29 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about atavistic

What does atavistic mean?: Atavistic means of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.
What is atavistic in Urdu?: Atavistic in Urdu is جدی کردار. See Atavistic meaning in Urdu.
How do you use atavistic in a sentence?: Reactivation of a dormant atavistic gene could account for the abnormal costocoracoid ligament in humans.
What part of speech is atavistic?: Atavistic is an adjective.
How do you pronounce atavistic?: Atavistic is pronounced /æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/ (UK).

Words near atavistic in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: atavistic (page history and authors); atavistic (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-atavistic.ogg.

Cite this entry: “atavistic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/atavistic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.