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: regarded as being outdated or outmoded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

This notion was based on outdated presumptions of hillforts as being occupied by violent, prehistoric savages. —News Desk, Artforum, 10 Apr. 2026

On a candy-bright ceramic plate, as one standout example, a staffer will deliver a prehistoric-looking turkey leg draped in mole. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

Concerts are regularly held in the space, taking advantage of its powerful prehistoric acoustics; find a list of upcoming shows on its website. —Jennifer Stewart Kornegay, Southern Living, 9 Apr. 2026

The doctoral student identified more than 600 previously unknown sets of Native American dice from 45 prehistoric archaeological sites in the western United States from the Late Pleistocene until after the period of European contact. —Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 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