Neanderthal 1 of 2

1
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

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
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 By extracting and sequencing Neanderthal DNA, scientists unlocked unprecedented insights into their biology and behavior. Anna Nordseth, Discover Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025 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
  • For the general The First Berserker: Khazan follows Khazan — a former barbarian who rose far enough to become a great general in the Pell Los Empire, earning the recognition of the nation’s emperor.
    Scott McRae, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • The appearance of lumps, wart-like growths, or open sores that don't heal within a few weeks is also a significant sign.
    Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
  • However, during a physical provided by the WTA, the governing body of women’s tennis, the following year, another doctor encouraged Dabrowski to get the lump scanned.
    George Ramsay, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Trump has not previously been counted among the zoo’s critics, who tend to lament the life of captivity suffered by its animals, not their potential indoctrination.
    Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2025
  • From more types of materials players could use to build and decorate to more animals that inhabited the world to more biomes for players to explore.
    Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 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
  • Zuckerberg topped the list of the biggest losers by dollars, down $17.9 billion as Meta shares took a hit in the sell-off.
    Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
  • The sudden stock downturn makes Friedman the biggest billionaire loser of the ongoing trade war so far, in percentage terms.
    Julie Goldenberg, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • This environment in some ways is a dream come true for our caveman ancestors.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2017

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Neanderthal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Neanderthal. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on Neanderthal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!