Definitions

1. adjective

Relating to or characteristic of an atavism, especially a tendency to revert to an earlier, often primitive or ancestral, characteristic or trait.

“The atavistic desire to hunt and gather drove the couple to take their children on a wilderness survival trip.”

2. noun

A trait or characteristic that is inherited from a distant ancestor but is not expressed in the present generation.

“The scientist studied the atavistic features that appeared in the fossil record.”

3. adverb

In a way that is characteristic of an atavism, especially a primitive or ancestral way.

“The tribe’s atavistic rituals were performed with great ceremony.”