as in basic
of or relating to the simplest facts or theories of a subject
even if you're not planning on becoming a scientist, you should have an elemental knowledge of chemistry
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Recent Examples of elemental
Trade those greatest hits for a few hours’ drive above Dublin and the reward is a wilder, more elemental Ireland — Atlantic headlands carved by weather rather than postcards, beaches that appear out of nowhere, and cliffs that don’t require elbowing for a view.
—
David Dickstein, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Thompson believes the spurning of that film connected with something elemental in Lean.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 12 May 2026
The forty-niners are elemental to our identity as a nation of brave, rugged individualists.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Its rotation on the platform suggests narratives and storytelling in their most elemental form.
—Emmanuel Iduma, ARTnews.com, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for elemental
David Dickstein, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Thompson believes the spurning of that film connected with something elemental in Lean.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 12 May 2026
The forty-niners are elemental to our identity as a nation of brave, rugged individualists.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Its rotation on the platform suggests narratives and storytelling in their most elemental form.
—Emmanuel Iduma, ARTnews.com, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for elemental
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elemental
Adjective
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When asked for basic tips on booking a flight, Potter had two answers.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
31 May 2026
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Users just need to tap the screen to monitor connection status in real time, switch VPN profiles, share Wi-Fi via a QR code and complete basic network configuration tasks.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Perez’s elementary-school-age daughter somehow survived the natural gas explosion at The Clyde apartments with only minor scratches, acording to Carmona.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 May 2026
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One study found that AI chatbots were shown to help elementary-aged children learn English.—
Noelle Harff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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Charley can read but can’t write well, his fine motor skills rudimentary.—
Chris Jones,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2026
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Each blip from his Korg MS-20 synthesizer resolves like an individual pixel on a rudimentary PC monitor, fitting for a track that dropped at the dawn of mass peer-to-peer file sharing.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
23 May 2026
Adjective
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The California Democrat was so unfamiliar to the incoming president that Biden badly mispronounced his name at an introductory news conference.—
Dan Diamond,
Washington Post,
31 May 2026
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Locke’s children’s book is an introductory lesson about gender-inclusive pronouns.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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According to the team, the result positions Argus as an early demonstration of a wider class of robots built not around biological imitation, but around a fundamental principle of balanced, direction-agnostic performance.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
27 May 2026
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Celebrating its 340th birthday this year, the gravitational constant is the oldest fundamental constant in physics.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elemental.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elemental. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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