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
-
Said to offer a level of care not currently available in any other local program, patients would be overseen by doctors and nurses who would oversee withdrawal management and therapy designed to prevent relapses.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Not only are relapses unpredictable but scientists have yet to explain the slow and insidious degeneration that often occurs even without new lesions.—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
West Ham have yielded four points from their first nine games, which is their joint-worst return at this stage of a league campaign, since the 1932-33 and 1973-74 seasons.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Kyiv and Seoul estimate that North Korea deployed more than 10,000 troops to the war in return for economic and military technology assistance from Russia.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Is this Rick’s fresh start, or a reversion to his old ways?—
Willing Davidson,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
-
While the downtrend is still intact, price is reaching a level where a mean-reversion bounce could set up.—
Nishant Pant,
CNBC,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Despite the regression from one round to the next, the Blue Jays should feel outstanding about their young starter.—
Tim Crowley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
-
This year, several East teams are in danger of regression.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The league executed one group of warrants, let one lapse and is still sitting on the third, according to SEC filings.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
22 Oct. 2025
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The director of the Louvre in Paris took the hot seat on Wednesday, answering questions from lawmakers amid mounting criticism over apparent security lapses that enabled thieves to pull off Sunday's brazen daylight heist of more than $100 million in jewels from the museum's ornate Apollo Gallery.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
22 Oct. 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
-
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 28 Oct. 2025.
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