as in archaic
formal
very primitive
—used to describe feelings or qualities that human beings have had from the earliest times
atavistic instincts reverting to atavistic behavior
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Recent Examples of atavistic
Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically.
—
Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Rather than conjuring a mood of bracing inexorability, this linear focus only suffocates what might be an interesting debate, as a man of the modern world weighs his values against those of a woman raised in atavistic isolation.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The experts think fiat money is mature and serious and the gold standard cranky, weird, and atavistic.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Rather than conjuring a mood of bracing inexorability, this linear focus only suffocates what might be an interesting debate, as a man of the modern world weighs his values against those of a woman raised in atavistic isolation.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The experts think fiat money is mature and serious and the gold standard cranky, weird, and atavistic.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atavistic
Adjective
-
Amid the nods to social media and cancel culture and the shallow perils of modern celebrity, the image of Taylor-Joy’s disciplined group of insurgents, who speak in almost archaic, poetic dialogue, strikes a bracing contrast.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Yet university leaders have spoken optimistically about the future, bolstered by its new membership in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), its coaching staff and a $25 million renovation of its archaic football stadium.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Picture real-time views of what individual players see from their perspective on the field or probability overlays showing the likelihood of different play outcomes based on formation, down, distance, and historical data.—
Jason Corso,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Responsiveness requires historical literacy, strategic coherence, clarity of purpose, and a public that understands the stakes.—
Carol L. Harris,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Goguette, from the old-world wine aficionados at Eurocave, is a fuss-free solution for storing your special-occasion vino stash.—
Noah Kaufman,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Corridors are bedecked in vivid wallpaper with oversized flora and animals, real and mythical, and the hotel’s art collection that meets your eye around every corner is a go-for-broke assemblage of everything from old-world oils to ambitious mixed media and 20th-century American photography.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Adi looked down at his hiking boots with their split-grain leather and polyurethane midsoles and skidded his feet back toward the driftwood, like one of his former fourth graders called out on a pair of outmoded sneakers.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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An outmoded concept, evil was baggage from a pre-modern age, the least useful way to interpret bad behavior.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
According to its website, Butcher & Singer is an homage to the glitz and class of 1940s Hollywood, reaching into the past, plucking the best and brightest aspects of a bygone era.—
Courtney Cherry,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
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Four televisions play hip hop videos, old sitcoms, movies of a bygone era on VHS.—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The new research focused on three Prototaxites fossils unearthed in the Rhynie chert, a prehistoric land ecosystem near Aberdeen, Scotland.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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With previous showstoppers such as The Blooming of the Mosasaurs—a bold blue ensemble inspired by a prehistoric marine reptile whose fossils have been discovered in Angola, Africa, as well as in Louisiana—Zulu plans every suit to be his best one yet.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Wilson said the immediacy of her script connects with how Hedda isn’t simply an antiquated character from the past but someone women today can identify with.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The theatrical window is not an antiquated tradition.—
Joseph M. Singer,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The neighborhood/area Nestled along Pinney's Beach, the property sits just minutes from museums, plantation homes, and historic churches dating to the 1600s.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Missouri - Travelers can cross the historic Chain of Rocks bridge over the Mississippi River and explore underground cages.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Atavistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atavistic. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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