as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
primeval forests slowly disappearing as the climate changed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 primeval
There was another side to connect with, a rough, primeval, earthly energy.
—
Literary Hub, 3 Dec. 2025
The primeval lizards also harbor over 50 strains of bacteria in their mouths and their venomous saliva contains an anticoagulant and toxins that induce blood loss, shock, and paralysis in its victim.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2025
Sez Me … Since the first football player — all hairy and slumped over and naked — climbed out of the primeval swamp and tried to block an animal that hasn’t been seen since that giant asteroid smashed into Earth, it‘s been obvious.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Filled with unearthly landscapes, primeval forests, and twilight beaches, Anemone’s ornate visual design seems to underscore its characters’ emotional suffocation.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primeval
Literary Hub, 3 Dec. 2025
The primeval lizards also harbor over 50 strains of bacteria in their mouths and their venomous saliva contains an anticoagulant and toxins that induce blood loss, shock, and paralysis in its victim.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2025
Sez Me … Since the first football player — all hairy and slumped over and naked — climbed out of the primeval swamp and tried to block an animal that hasn’t been seen since that giant asteroid smashed into Earth, it‘s been obvious.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Filled with unearthly landscapes, primeval forests, and twilight beaches, Anemone’s ornate visual design seems to underscore its characters’ emotional suffocation.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primeval
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primeval
Adjective
-
Buying into this ancient predator-prey superstition are the nonprofits Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and Utah Wild Sheep Foundation.—
Ted Williams,
Denver Post,
24 Feb. 2026
-
American geneticist Audrey Lin studies evolution using ancient DNA, with a particular focus on how dogs were domesticated.—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Treatments were so primitive that medical intervention scarcely worked into the equation.—
Steven Levingston,
Vanity Fair,
23 Feb. 2026
-
And director Hammond doesn’t let the primitive miniseries technology defeat him.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Cumming then invited everyone in attendance to join him in a collective primal scream at world events.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Perhaps there’s no such thing as perfect when a film’s emotional scope is so ambitious and so primal, all at once.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
These very early prehistoric burials in southern England and Wales, because of their northern location, haven’t generally survived due to the glaciers that populated the area during the Ice Age.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The new research focused on three Prototaxites fossils unearthed in the Rhynie chert, a prehistoric land ecosystem near Aberdeen, Scotland.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In the labs, visitors are shown how scientists take red blood cells from a developing egg embryo – within the blood will be the primordial germ cells, which develop into egg and sperm in adult birds.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Readers who discover Joy Williams’s astonishing second novel in 2018 may be surprised to feel a primordial déjà vu; a tingling where their own antlers might have been, once upon a time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Dane enjoyed a robust TV and film career that began in the early 1990s.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Joan, Adrià, and Ana, Annua’s director of marketing and communications, reveal early plans for a series of cottages that incorporate biophilic design on the plot currently home to rows of olive trees beyond the pool; however, at the time of writing, these are subject to planning restrictions.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primeval. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
