preindustrial

adjective

pre·in·dus·tri·al ˌprē-in-ˈdə-strē-əl

variants or pre-industrial

: not having developed or adopted industry : not industrialized

preindustrial agrarian societies

preindustrial civilization

: occurring, existing, or originating before the development or adoption of industry

in preindustrial times

preindustrial levels of carbon dioxide

preindustrial artifacts

still made using preindustrial methods

also : resembling that of preindustrial times

a return to a preindustrial way of life

Examples of preindustrial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Climate change made those ocean temperatures up to 800 times more likely today than in a preindustrial climate with lower greenhouse gases in the air, according to calculations from Climate Central, a research nonprofit. —

Andrew Freedman, Axios, 8 Oct. 2024 One proponent of kids having more adult-free playtime is the anthropologist David Lancy, whose book Learning Without Lessons: Pedagogy in Indigenous Communities examines how children learn and play in small, preindustrial societies. —

Amanda Ruggeri, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2024 Scientists say a global temperature rise beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial average will have a catastrophic and irreversible impact on the planet, from melting ice sheets to the collapse of ocean currents. —

Reuters, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024 The warmest global air temperature recorded was in December 2023, at 1.78 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average temperature for December—and 0.31 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous record. —

Christopher Merchant, WIRED, 17 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for preindustrial

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preindustrial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.