1
as in main
coming before all others in importance
the primal theme of the essay is toleration of religious diversity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
there was a period of primal idealism after the founding of the republic and before the rise of partisan politics
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of primal
Deep listening is about genuine curiosity cueing in our primal need to be seen and heard, and create unexpected connections, ultimately combating loneliness and promoting social cohesion.
—
Julie Kratz, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Reid plays the New Boy’s difference, almost beyond human, with surprising subtlety and restraint for such a raw performer (which is essential to capture that primal sense of survival at all costs).
—Ella Kemp, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
His needs and his flaws — grand, primal, and by implication maybe even shared with everyone else sitting nearby — become the engine and the spectacle.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 May 2025
Grinderman formed in 2005 as a more raw and primal outlet for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds—a sound more akin to Cave’s early post-punk project the Birthday Party.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for primal
Julie Kratz, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Reid plays the New Boy’s difference, almost beyond human, with surprising subtlety and restraint for such a raw performer (which is essential to capture that primal sense of survival at all costs).
—Ella Kemp, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
His needs and his flaws — grand, primal, and by implication maybe even shared with everyone else sitting nearby — become the engine and the spectacle.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 May 2025
Grinderman formed in 2005 as a more raw and primal outlet for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds—a sound more akin to Cave’s early post-punk project the Birthday Party.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for primal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primal
Adjective
-
Israel hit Iran’s main enrichment site at Natanz, its leading nuclear scientists, and struck the heart of its ballistic missile program, Netanyahu said.—
Spencer Kimball,Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
13 June 2025
-
The incident came just hours after about 100 anti-ICE protesters gathered in Lower Manhattan at Foley Square, near a large government building that houses federal immigration offices and the city's main immigration court.—
Michael Dorgan , Bryan Llenas,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
So, co-author Vance Holliday of the University of Arizona (who also co-authored the 2021 paper) and colleagues decided to radiocarbon-date ancient lake bed and wetlands mud that can be directly traced to the alluvium layers in which the footprints are preserved.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 June 2025
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The narrow, shaded Via Santa Maria della Pietà is Neapolitan-esque in its air of ancient mystery, with big arched doorways to houses and glimpses into tiny barber shops and a cubbyhole tattoo parlor.—
Rebecca Ann Hughes,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
-
Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
-
Your calendar is your primary tool to navigate this demanding environment.—
Luciana Paulise,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
-
The major-party candidates in the race for governor are already set; neither faced a serious primary challenge.—
Margaret Barthel,
NPR,
17 June 2025
Adjective
-
The limp is the primeval sign, in many cultural myth systems, of autochthony: humans born from the earth, parentless.—
Nicholas Dames,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
-
But in this primeval stage, nearly all of the potential Democratic candidates are discussing problems that have bedeviled their party for years: how to win back working-class voters, how aggressively to oppose President Trump and how to reach voters beyond the traditional news media.—
Lisa Lerer,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
After a 30-minute tug of war, finally seeing the bony plates of the prehistoric fish emerge from the murky depths of the Snake feels like uncovering the last surviving creature to slither out of the primordial ooze shortly after the Earth cooled.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
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Visitors to the La Brea Tar Pits are aware of the species’ role in the ecosystem of primordial Southern California, thanks to a wall at the museum displaying hundreds of dire wolf skulls extracted from the ooze.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But the predominant theme of the debate was Cuomo facing attacks from the eight other candidates, who laced into him on everything from public safety and education to affordable housing production and the ex-governor’s integrity.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
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Apparently natural selection among the Uru, Aymara and Quechua peoples of the Bolivian Altiplano took DNA sequences that are present but rare in other populations around the world and increased their frequency to the point where the normally uncommon sequences are predominant in these groups.—
Kermit Pattison,
Scientific American,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Since gold is nearly indestructible and has been recycled many times, much of the gold used today dates from prehistoric ages.—
David Szondy
June 07,
New Atlas,
7 June 2025
-
More fossils will be needed to know if the prehistoric waterwheels grew snap traps to enclose small aquatic invertebrates, like its modern counterparts, but the lineage was already present during a time when the world was warmer and wetter, and mammals were just beginning to get big.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primal. Accessed 22 Jun. 2025.
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