Library / English Dictionary

ATAVIST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An organism that has the characteristics of a more primitive type of that organism

Synonyms:

atavist; throwback

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("atavist" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

Derivation:

atavism (a reappearance of an earlier characteristic)

atavistic (characteristic of an atavist)

Credits