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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At the time, physicians cautioned that another pregnancy could trigger a serious relapse.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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By identifying that meth elevates levels of a key immune molecule that drives both neuroinflammation and dopamine release, our recent findings offer a potential target to treat meth addiction and reduce relapse.—
Habibeh Khoshbouei,
The Conversation,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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On Tuesday, the crew prepared by packing cargo, reviewing return-to-Earth procedures and transferring hardware aboard the ISS, the agency said.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
15 Jan. 2026
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Their return is happening about a month ahead of schedule; NASA decided to end Crew-11 early to deal with a medical issue experienced by one of the astronauts on orbit.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Many factor studies are most robust at roughly monthly horizons because fundamental and positioning data updates occur on that cadence, and because mean reversion is more likely to occur over weeks than over days, the duration aligns naturally with options trading frequency and maintenance.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
12 Jan. 2026
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Mean-reversion bubbles, by contrast, are fads that inflate and collapse without transforming the underlying industry.—
Brian Blank,
The Conversation,
29 Dec. 2025
Noun
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One of the reasons for their regression was Monken’s unit also regressed.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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Signs of Tagovailoa’s regression began to show in 2025.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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State officials say the program is a way to reduce costs, prevent medication lapses, and ease the burden on doctors, particularly in rural areas where clinicians are already stretched thin.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
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When a team allots minutes to so many young players simultaneously, lapses in concentration and on-court mistakes are bound to happen.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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 18 Jan. 2026.
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