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Meaning of atavism

Source language: EnglishDictionary language: English

atavism

Pronunciation:/ˈætəˌvɪzəm/

noun

Definitions

  1. The reappearance of an ancestral characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence.

  2. The recurrence or reversion to a past behaviour, method, characteristic or style after a long period of absence.

  3. Reversion to past primitive behavior, especially violence.