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
Early on, these doctors-cum-criminal-profilers explained bad apples through theories such as atavism.
—WIRED, 21 Feb. 2023
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
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
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
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
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
Heather Scott Partington, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
Early on, these doctors-cum-criminal-profilers explained bad apples through theories such as atavism.
—WIRED, 21 Feb. 2023
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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atavism
Noun
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His decision to be open about the relapse was in part thanks to Bradley Cooper.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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Curtis’ research has already led to identification of distinct genomic subtypes that predict a breast cancer relapse up to two decades after diagnosis.—
Mark Tatge,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Pegula was often the first to change direction in rallies and constantly jammed Sabalenka with body serves to stop her from unleashing returns.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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Her Russian-speaking friends flee while deported Chechens return, reclaiming their homeland.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Even a partial reversion to historical valuation multiples implies meaningful upside.—
Sasirekha Subramanian,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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To De Luca and Abdy, making that $90-million picture with a reversion deal was a judgment call based on prior results.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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This regression incurs significant costs.—
Douglas B. Laney,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Galton, who coined the term eugenics, pioneered correlation and regression and used these tools to argue that traits like intelligence and morality were heritable and should be managed through selective breeding.—
Craig Spencer,
The Atlantic,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Army has released its own report detailing several lapses in how officials leading Card's unit dealt with the reservist's spiraling mental health.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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His mother has obtained lawyers who are preparing a lawsuit over potential security lapses at Icon Brickell that allowed Kehl to access the building.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 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 11 Sep. 2025.
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