1The artist's use of medieval imagery in her paintings was seen as a deliberate atavism, a rejection of modernity in favour of a nostalgic past.
2Critics have argued that the resurgence of nationalist sentiment in some countries represents a disturbing atavism, a return to the xenophobic and isolationist tendencies of the past.
3In his novel, the author explores the theme of atavism, where a young man's primitive instincts and desires are at odds with the civilised values of his upbringing.
4The discovery of a long-lost language or culture can be seen as a form of atavism, a window into the past that reveals the roots of our present-day identities.
5There is a tension in human nature between the desire for progress and the pull of atavism, a nostalgia for the familiar and the comforting certainties of the past.