atavistic

/æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/

//æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"atavistic" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“atavistic” is uncommon English (frequency #80,208 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,208
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-atavistic · atavistic · English

atavistic · rank #80,208 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,208
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH astrophotogra…

Nearest frequency peer: astrophotography (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “atavistic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “atavistic” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for atavistic
PropertyValue
Headwordatavistic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/
Letters9
Frequency rank#80,208
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “atavistic” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).atavisticfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “astrophotography” (#80,207), “assignable” (#80,205), “augurs” (#80,211). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “atavistic” is #80,208. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

atavistic is uncommon English at frequency #80,208 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for atavistic, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From atavism + -istic, from French atavisme, from Latin atavus (“ancestor”), from at + avus (“grandfather”). The correct English form is atavistic, spelled A-T-A-V-I-S-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.
  2. 2
    Of a throwback or exhibiting primitivism.
  3. 3
    Relating to earlier, more primitive behavior that returns after an absence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how atavistic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Although the heterozygote gives it an atavistic appearance, the gene is not atavistic.
  2. Thus the gene which produced atavistic digits in the vigorous heterozygous pentadactyl condition is a lethal monster in the homozygous condition.

Etymology

From atavism + -istic, from French atavisme, from Latin atavus (“ancestor”), from at + avus (“grandfather”).

Synonyms

atavistical

This word in other languages

atávico(Español)atavique(Français)atavistisch(Deutsch)atávico(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "atavistic"?
"atavistic" is spelled A-T-A-V-I-S-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/.
What does "atavistic" mean?
As an adjective, "atavistic" means: Of the recurrence of a trait reappearing after an absence of one or more generations due to a chance recombination of genes.
How do you pronounce "atavistic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "atavistic" is /æt.əˈvɪs.tɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "atavistic"?
From atavism + -istic, from French atavisme, from Latin atavus (“ancestor”), from at + avus (“grandfather”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "atavistic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

barefaced#80,226angiogram#80,187beauteous#80,234amaryllis#80,180

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list