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Plural
atavisms
1
an ancestral or ancient trait, feeling, outlook, activity, etc. that modern humans revert to
- The sudden aggression he displayed seemed like an atavism from a primal past.
- Her love for hunting felt like an atavism, connecting her to ancient ancestors.
- His fear of the dark felt like an atavism, a remnant of early human survival instincts.
- The villagers practiced an atavism, celebrating ancient customs long forgotten elsewhere.
- The child’s instinct to climb trees seemed like an atavism from our evolutionary history.