What does "atavistic" mean?

Of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.

Atavistic

Common synonyms include: regressive, aboriginal, ancestral, antepatriarchal, atavistical, atavistical.

adj

adj ·4 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Adjective

1
Of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.
"Although the heterozygote gives it an atavistic appearance, the gene is not atavistic."
2
Of a throwback or exhibiting primitivism.
"They made me feel that I was alive in the nineteenth century, a sort of atavistic remnant, a romantic shred […]"
3
Relating to earlier, more primitive behavior that returns after an absence.

Adjective

"Although the heterozygote gives it an atavistic appearance, the gene is not atavistic."

From atavism + -istic, from French atavisme, from Latin atavus (“ancestor”), from at + avus (“grandfather”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.