atavism
Return to primitive
Atavism is the reappearance of a trait from distant ancestors that had been absent in recent generations—a genetic throwback.
A whale born with visible hind limbs shows atavism.
The term extends to any reversion to primitive or ancestral behavior: The violence felt like an atavism, a return to tribal warfare.
The adjective is atavistic.
Coming back into view
- reemergenceReturning to visibility
- resurgenceReturn after dormancy
- returnGo back again
- revivalReturn after decline
relapse · throwback · echo · reawakening · rebirth · regression · reversal · backsliding
Return to former state
- vestigialReduced, without current function
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
Darwinism · evolutionary biology · phylogeny · homologous · morphology · heredity · recessive gene · dewclaw
First in origin
- primitiveIn earliest form
- feralWild after domestication
- innateExisting since birth
- visceralArising from deep instinct
gut · impulse · reflex · fight-or-flight · predatory · territorial · animalistic · unlearned
Misapplied natural selection to society
- eugenicsControlled human reproduction theory
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- primitivismIdealization of pre-modern life
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
Of one's forebears
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- forebearsAncestral family members
progenitors · genealogy · descent · pedigree · forefathers · antecedents · predecessors · roots
Longing for the past
- retroEvoking recent past
- vintageQuality from past eras
- revivalReturn after decline
- traditionalismAdherence to inherited customs
archaism · back-to-nature · tribalism · ancestor worship · folk revival · reactionary
reappearance
Coming back into view
- reemergenceReturning to visibility
- resurgenceReturn after dormancy
- returnGo back again
revival · relapse · throwback · echo · reawakening · rebirth · regression · reversal · backsliding · recrudescence
reversion
Return to former state
- vestigialReduced, without current function
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
genotype · Darwinism · evolutionary biology · phylogeny · homologous · morphology · heredity · recessive gene · dewclaw
primal
First in origin
visceral · gut · impulse · reflex · fight-or-flight · predatory · territorial · animalistic · unlearned · hardwired
social Darwinism
Misapplied natural selection to society
- eugenicsControlled human reproduction theory
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- primitivismIdealization of pre-modern life
nativism · blood and soil · scientific racism · hereditarian
ancestral
Of one's forebears
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
forebears · progenitors · genealogy · descent · pedigree · forefathers · antecedents · predecessors · roots · clan
nostalgia
Longing for the past
traditionalism · archaism · back-to-nature · tribalism · ancestor worship · folk revival · reactionary
atavismevolution
Species changing over generations
progress · advancement · development · adaptation · speciation
atavismprogress
Movement toward improvement
progressivism · modernism · modernity · enlightenment · advancement