Neanderthal 1 of 2

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as in barbarian
a man with crude manners and habits and outmoded attitudes made the mistake of dining with some Neanderthal who repeatedly mistook his shirtsleeve for a napkin

Synonyms & Similar Words

Neanderthal

2 of 2

adjective

variants or Neandertal

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Neanderthal
Noun
By extracting and sequencing Neanderthal DNA, scientists unlocked unprecedented insights into their biology and behavior. Anna Nordseth, Discover Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025 The genomes carried evidence of Neanderthal ancestry. Katie Hunt, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024 But, while this group of people also had Neanderthal ancestry, their population must have died out, because their DNA doesn’t appear to contribute to modern-day genomes. Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2024 Poetry for Neanderthals for $25: Every card has a word, and your seemingly simple task is to get your team to correctly guess it within the time limit by speaking in single syllables only. Simon Hill, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for Neanderthal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Neanderthal
Noun
  • The hulk of metal moved silently through space, high above the blue Earth.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 13 Feb. 2025
  • Having boy hulk Matthew Knies at the net front, to retrieve pucks and be a pain for the defence, is one positive step that’s been working.
    James Mirtle, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • In a fable by Phaedrus, also written in the first century A.D., a barbarian is threatening the troops of the military leader, Pompey the Great.
    Tom Sapsford, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Whatever the reason, barbarians likely used the spoons either to snort powdered substances, or to measure out a quantity to place into drinks like beer, or into pipes to be smoked.
    Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The move garnered mixed reactions, with many calling out Brown for his rude tone and choice of words.
    Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Shift The Focus To Collaboration Sometimes, rude colleagues act out of insecurity or stress.
    Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • While less consequential for than last year’s clothing controversy involving the apparel brands Nike and Fanatics—which affected jerseys worn by players—New Era’s apparent misstep is another example of MLB’s brand taking lumps because of design decisions made outside of its purview.
    Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 10 Mar. 2025
  • The puck broke Ray’s glasses and left a massive lump on his head, but Ray didn’t miss a second of game action.
    Matthew Fairburn, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Experts say the animals in the video were common wombats, the only one of three species of the Australian marsupial which is not threatened or endangered.
    Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 13 Mar. 2025
  • After the wombat hisses, seemingly in distress, Jones eventually returns the animal to the bush.
    Rebecca Schneid, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2022
  • As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.
    Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022
Noun
  • Winners and losers in slowdowns and recessions In 2019, VisualCapitalist ran a study of economic cycles going back to 1960 based on data from SPDR Americas Research.
    Bob Pisani, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Other major losers included Apple, Microsoft and Tesla, which was down more than 10%.
    Rob Wile, NBC News, 10 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Even cavemen, in ancient, simpler times, could not merely sit around in cave admiring/praising one another, but had to hunt, fight, compete with members of own group for status.
    George Saunders, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
  • In their first outing, the Croods managed to carve out a niche for themselves that distinguished these cavemen from everybody’s favorite modern Stone Age family.
    James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Neanderthal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Neanderthal. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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