1
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person
they looked like a tribe of Neanderthals compared to the bridegroom's patrician-looking family
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
variants
or Neandertal
as in rude
not civilized
her boyfriend's Neanderthal tastes and manners were often embarrassing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of Neanderthal
Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
More of Florida’s contemporary GOP lawmakers seem prone to cheer on Neanderthal talking points than challenge them.
—Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2025
Published: Feb 3, 2025 Claire Cameron (Photo: Claire Cameron)
Claire Cameron’s novels include The Last Neanderthal and The Bear.
—Claire Cameron, Outside Online, 3 Feb. 2025
Blood Type and Health The lack of variety in blood type within Neanderthals may have led them to their demise.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Neanderthal
Noun
Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
fossils
Neanderthals
evolution
anthropology
paleontology
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—Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
More of Florida’s contemporary GOP lawmakers seem prone to cheer on Neanderthal talking points than challenge them.
—Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2025
Published: Feb 3, 2025 Claire Cameron (Photo: Claire Cameron)
Claire Cameron’s novels include The Last Neanderthal and The Bear.
—Claire Cameron, Outside Online, 3 Feb. 2025
Blood Type and Health The lack of variety in blood type within Neanderthals may have led them to their demise.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Neanderthal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Neanderthal
Noun
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Because the park was damaged and is surrounded by the hulks of once-beloved homes.—
Hailey Branson-Potts,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2025
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Like the ghostly hulk of the Titanic below the surface of the sea, Northbrook Court is a quiet and cavernous relic — at the bottom of the retail food chain.—
David Petitti,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Scott himself was a bit like one of these barbarians, constantly attacking and unsettling a seemingly stable consensus on the value of state power, and of civilization itself.—
Nikil Saval,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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El Cid Published July 8, 1999 Like victorious barbarians in a war between the present and the past, bulldozers this week tore into the towers and walls of a Miami castle that once housed El Cid restaurant.—
Jeff Kleinman,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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My question: Was there any way to have prevented this rude woman from stealing away all of my guests? GENTLE READER: Counter-questions: Did the boss and his wife drop the guests off before the emergency furniture move?—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2025
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Since then, the stepmother has proved to be mean and rude on multiple occasions, the bride wrote.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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That familiar lump of expectation coagulated in my stomach and throat.—
Thomas Weddle,
Outdoor Life,
17 Apr. 2025
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Labor in healthcare includes taking down medical histories, making diagnoses, lifting patients, removing lumps, palpating livers, writing notes, processing claims and comforting patients.—
Kevin Vigilante,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Deadly dog mauling Kansas City Police officers responded around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 2, 2024, to the Marlborough East neighborhood for a call about an animal bite incident.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2025
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Hantavirus strains in the U.S. are not transmissible from person to person but rather from animals to humans.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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The loser of Friday’s game in Atlanta enters the offseason.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
17 Apr. 2025
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The winner will then play the loser of Tuesday’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup, and whoever wins that game will become the East’s No. 8 seed and face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Frame The Brand Story As A Relatable Hero’s Journey From the time of cavemen and hieroglyphics, humans have been storytellers.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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That is now as pathetic to me as a fetid caveman’s toolmaking would be to a great thinker like da Vinci or even Edgar Allen Poe.—
Graham Techler,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Neanderthal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Neanderthal. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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