Neanderthals

noun

plural of Neanderthal
1
as in losers
a big clumsy often slow-witted person they looked like a tribe of Neanderthals compared to the bridegroom's patrician-looking family

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarians
a man with crude manners and habits and outmoded attitudes made the mistake of dining with some Neanderthal who repeatedly mistook his shirtsleeve for a napkin

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for Neanderthals
  1. losers
  2. barbarians
  3. lumps
  4. troglodytes
  5. idiots
  6. animals
  7. morons
  8. cavemen
Noun
  • In the present geopolitical environment, some companies are winners while others are losers, Fitzgerald said.
    — Cathy Bussewitz, Fortune, 31 July 2026
  • No longer football’s famous losers, Newcastle’s identity was now blurred.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 30 July 2026
Definition of losers
Noun
  • The world drew heavily from the paintings of fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta, who depicted scenes of barbarians and beasts in conflict, of pulp fiction heroes, femme fatales, and fierce warrior women.
    — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 29 June 2026
  • To an outsider, the scene may spark a certain Schadenfreude, like an army of tiny barbarians sacking Rome.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of barbarians
Noun
  • Battered metal is as crucial to his kit as conventional drum sounds, and even his tonal elements feel as malleable as wrung-out sponges or wet lumps of clay.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026
  • This uses information from other Mercedes vehicles driving ahead, sent through the Cloud, to adjust the suspension to better absorb lumps and bumps.
    — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 29 July 2026
Definition of lumps
Noun
  • Many wonders made the list, including royal burial grounds in Egypt, an Indonesian archipelago of 1,500 islands and Turkish cliffs formerly inhabited by Bronze Age troglodytes (cave dwellers).
    — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of troglodytes
Noun
  • In McBride’s work, collections of idiots and unlikable misfits strive for power and achievement and are inevitably foiled by their own flaws.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 16 July 2026
  • This isn't the first time athletes have ever had to deal with mean fans, or online trolls, or idiots behind a keyboard.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of idiots
Noun
  • Devil facial tumor disease appeared in 1996 in Tasmania’s northeast, grotesque growths on the face and mouth that the animals spread by biting one another in their squabbles over food and mates.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Yasunaga said donations from Punch’s fans funded the installation of air conditioning in the Monkey Mountain back area, a necessity for the animals to remain comfortable through Japan’s hot summer months.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
Definition of animals
Noun
  • There are complicated brain-chemistry factors involved that have to do with testosterone, and dopaminergic systems, and kappa-opioid receptors, all of which seem to add up to a Jim Gaffigan joke about how men are morons compared with their wives.
    — McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
Definition of morons
Noun
  • The findings add to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals — our closest extinct human relatives — were cognitively and psychologically more similar to modern humans than previously thought, rather than the simple-minded, brutish cavemen of earlier stereotypes.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 13 May 2026
  • The strip explored the life of a group of cavemen and their anthropomorphic animals and dinosaurs in prehistoric times, and has been in production for nearly 70 years, currently managed by Hart’s family.
    — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 2 Apr. 2026
Definition of cavemen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Neanderthals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Neanderthals. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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