as in relapse
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Recent Examples of atavism
Millet plays with the title and with the idea of atavism, in which an ancient trait asserts itself by skipping forward a few generations to suddenly appear in the gene pool.
—
Heather Scott Partington, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
Western elites believed that in the twenty-first century, cosmopolitanism and globalism would triumph over atavism and tribal loyalties.
—Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2017
This sumptuous piece of theatrical atavism bore little resemblance to the actual events of Mozart’s life, but most nonpurist musicians happily accepted the melodramatization; quite apart from the thespian pyrotechnics, the sophisticated choice of music was a revelation.
—Simon Callow, The New York Review of Books, 22 Dec. 2022
Is my interest in the moon some dormant atavism from a more primitive era of human life?
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Oct. 2022
Early on, these doctors-cum-criminal-profilers explained bad apples through theories such as atavism.
—WIRED, 21 Feb. 2023
If learning and gentility are signs of civilization, perhaps our almost-big brains are straining against their residual atavism, struggling to expand.
—Richard Granger, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2022
Obama crashed against a wall of atavism and paranoia.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 29 Jan. 2022
This gives his career an arc of atavism and abnegating tragedy, a willful artist hopelessly at the mercy of his obsessions.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2021
Heather Scott Partington, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
Western elites believed that in the twenty-first century, cosmopolitanism and globalism would triumph over atavism and tribal loyalties.
—Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2017
This sumptuous piece of theatrical atavism bore little resemblance to the actual events of Mozart’s life, but most nonpurist musicians happily accepted the melodramatization; quite apart from the thespian pyrotechnics, the sophisticated choice of music was a revelation.
—Simon Callow, The New York Review of Books, 22 Dec. 2022
Is my interest in the moon some dormant atavism from a more primitive era of human life?
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Oct. 2022
Early on, these doctors-cum-criminal-profilers explained bad apples through theories such as atavism.
—WIRED, 21 Feb. 2023
If learning and gentility are signs of civilization, perhaps our almost-big brains are straining against their residual atavism, struggling to expand.
—Richard Granger, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2022
Obama crashed against a wall of atavism and paranoia.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 29 Jan. 2022
This gives his career an arc of atavism and abnegating tragedy, a willful artist hopelessly at the mercy of his obsessions.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atavism
Noun
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Eve is one of four children belonging to the late Apple founder who died in 2011 after complications from a relapse of a rare form of pancreatic cancer.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
25 June 2025
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Using her own relapse as bait, Bree managed to coax Sanchez back into his own past drug addiction to protect her family, inadvertently causing his death by overdose.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
20 June 2025
Noun
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The two has made some progress toward a deal that would curb Tehran’s atomic activities in return for sanctions relief, but stalled on enrichment.—
Sara Braun,
Fortune,
22 June 2025
-
For Israelis, the Hamas attack represented not only the bloodiest day in the country since its founding but also the nightmarish return of vulnerability.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
21 June 2025
Noun
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The missed projection was the result of state reversions and unanticipated growth of services for aging and disabled residents.—
Alexandra Kukulka,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2025
-
The result for Minnesota was a reversion to its harassing, hit-first defense.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
25 May 2025
Noun
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After living under a state government often characterized by inaction, regression or outright hostility to such progressive values, California’s governance is a relative model of responsiveness and foresight.—
DeAndre Evans,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
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Boyle has noted in numerous interviews, including this chat with Kermode and Mayo, that one of the things that fascinated him about the quarantine zone of 28 Years Later was the potential for a kind of cultural regression.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
Under previous Israeli Prime Ministers, flagrant lapses of intelligence and military strategy were followed fairly quickly by hearings and dramatic results.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
22 June 2025
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Football has typically accepted these lapses and quietly moved on, adamant that the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PED) is primarily a problem for other sports.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Noun
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Visa retrogression might become more of an issue for Indian and Chinese applicants who invest under the high-unemployment category due to its more limited availability.—
Sam Silverman,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
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Does the Senate really want to put in office a secretary with zero medical training, who believes in raw milk and not in the extraordinary benefits of vaccinations, without asking him about such retrogression?—
Arthur House,
Hartford Courant,
22 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Atavism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atavism. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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