atavism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025

His atavism came with the weekend’s most polish.

From Slate • May 30, 2023

They pick up a female Native American auto mechanic along the way, but her survival smarts, and her ethics, run up against the increasing atavism they encounter.

From New York Times • Aug. 9, 2018

Kid jurisprudence works the same way: it’s an atavism.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 21, 2016

As if it came from an atavism deeper than fear, I used to add “brother” silently to boys’ names.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston