prehistoric

adjective

pre·​his·​tor·​ic ˌprē-(h)i-ˈstȯr-ik 

-ˈstär-

variants or less commonly prehistorical

ˌprē-(h)i-ˈstȯr-i-kəl 

-ˈstär-

1

: of, relating to, or existing in times antedating written history

2

: of or relating to a language in a period of its development from which contemporary records of its sounds and forms have not been preserved

3

: regarded as being outdated or outmoded

prehistoric attitudes

prehistorically

ˌprē-(h)i-ˈstȯr-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈstär-

adverb

Synonyms of prehistoric

• archaic
• obsolete
• medieval
• antiquated
• neolithic

Examples of prehistoric in a Sentence

His attitudes about women are downright prehistoric.

prehistoric notions about mental illness that have no place in today's world

Recent Examples on the Web

The National Museum alone lost almost two-thirds of its inventory, comprising nearly 100,000 artifacts that covered Sudan’s prehistoric age through its Nubian era, the Kingdom of Kush, the Christian era and its Islamic period. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Seeing those ancient sculptures would have a lasting impact on Cabrera, whose work contained forms that recall pagan ritual and prehistoric objects. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 7 Sep. 2026

Fontang played on the tour in the 1990s, which is now considered a prehistoric era in terms of recovery science. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

The ride started in the prehistoric era, and showcased animatronic dinosaurs, then went through various scenes of how humans have used energy throughout history. — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for prehistoric

• anaphoric
• metaphoric
• meteoric
• paregoric
• pyrophoric
• boric
• chloric
• doric
• toric
• caloric
• dysphoric
• euphoric

Kids Definition

prehistoric

adjective

pre·​his·​tor·​ic ˌprē-(h)is-ˈtȯr-ik 

-ˈtär-

: of, relating to, or existing in times before written history

prehistoric animals

prehistorically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb