noun
atavism
Atavism (noun) means the sudden return of a trait from a distant ancestor after it had disappeared for generations.
noun
1
The sudden return of a trait from a distant ancestor after it had disappeared for generations.
"He was a magnificent atavism, a man so purely primitive that he was of the type that came into the world before the development of the moral nature. He was not immoral, but merely unmoral."
— Jack London (1904)
2
A return to an old way of behaving or doing something after it had not been seen for a long time.
3
A return to more primitive behaviour, especially violent behaviour.
"I have even read in a book of criminology that the tramp is an atavism, a throw-back to the nomadic stage of humanity."
— George Orwell pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair (1933)
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Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of atavism?
"atavism" (noun) means the sudden return of a trait from a distant ancestor after it had disappeared for generations.
What is another word for atavism?
Other words for "atavism" include throwback, reversion.
What are the different meanings of atavism?
"atavism" has 3 main meanings: 1. The sudden return of a trait from a distant ancestor after it had disappeared for generations; 2. A return to an old way of behaving or doing something after it had not been seen for a long time; 3. A return to more primitive behaviour, especially violent behaviour.
