Neanderthal
of or relating to Neanderthal man.
(often lowercase)Informal. primitive, unenlightened, or reactionary; culturally or intellectually backward.
(often lowercase)Informal.
an unenlightened or ignorant person; barbarian.
a reactionary; a person with very old-fashioned ideas.
Origin of Neanderthal
1- Also Ne·an·der·tal [nee-an-der-tawl, -tahl; ney-ahn-der-tahl] /niˈæn dərˌtɔl, -ˌtɑl; neɪˈɑn dərˌtɑl/ (for defs. 1, 3).
Other words from Neanderthal
- Ne·an·der·thal·er, noun
Words Nearby Neanderthal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Neanderthal in a sentence
Early on, the sexual protagonist complains that her Molson-drinking husband is pretty much an incompetent Neanderthal.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits | Emily Shire | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIf you think of yourself as more than a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, you can stand up and be respectful.
“He was no Neanderthal,” says former U.S. senator Richard Bryan.
The Cowboy Sheriff of Las Vegas Rides Into ‘Mob Museum’ | John L. Smith | June 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTScientists extract complete Neanderthal genome from fossil—97 percent match to A&E programming.
Up to a Point: 2013 in Review and Predictions for 2014 | P. J. O’Rourke | January 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere have been many posts lately about countries with maternity/paternity leave, it's depressing how Neanderthal America seems.
Why I Choose to Be Child-Free: Readers Share Their Stories | Harry Siegel | February 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Early the next morning a little band of Neanderthal men descended the escarpment and set out toward the rising sun.
Warrior of the Dawn | Howard Carleton BrowneSilently each Neanderthal man stepped behind a trunk of one of the trees lining the path.
Warrior of the Dawn | Howard Carleton BrowneNeanderthal man had a very large head with heavy, overhanging eyebrows meeting above the nose, and a markedly retreating forehead.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe | John M. TylerOne hundred thousand years of human life in Europe produced nothing higher than Neanderthal man.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe | John M. TylerAnd we are not so far from that ancestor as to have eliminated not indeed Neanderthal, but Neanderthaloid types.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind | Herbert George Wells
British Dictionary definitions for Neanderthal
/ (nɪˈændəˌtɑːl) sometimes not capital /
relating to or characteristic of Neanderthal man
primitive; uncivilized
informal ultraconservative; reactionary
a person showing any such characteristics
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for Neanderthal
[ nē-ăn′dər-thôl′, -tôl′ ]
An extinct variety of human that lived throughout Europe and in parts of western Asia and northern Africa during the late Pleistocene Epoch, until about 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals had a stocky build and large skulls with thick eyebrow ridges and big teeth. They usually lived in caves, made flaked stone tools, and were the earliest humans known to bury their dead. Neanderthals were either a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a separate, closely related species (Homo neanderthalensis). They coexisted with early modern humans (Cro-Magnons) for several thousand years before becoming extinct, but are not generally believed to have interbred with them. See also Mousterian.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for Neanderthal
[ (nee-an-duhr-thawl, nee-an-duhr-tawl) ]
Notes for Neanderthal
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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