1. a hypothetical or prehistoric creature thought to be intermediate between apes and humans; an early human ancestor
Usage: informal; often used in popular science and fiction
2. a person regarded as primitive, brutish, or lacking intelligence
Usage: offensive; derogatory

Examples

• Scientists debated whether the fossil belonged to an apeman or a true human.
• Early theories about human evolution often featured the apeman as a transitional form.
• The museum exhibit displayed reconstructions of what an apeman might have looked like.
• In science fiction, the apeman is a common trope representing our evolutionary past.
• The term 'apeman' has largely been replaced by more precise scientific terminology.