primeval

adjective

prī-ˈmē-vəl How to pronounce primeval (audio)
Definition of primevalnext
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

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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 The fragrance that wafts from the dish when the lid is lifted heightens the anticipation, the nose being the first point of entry and the most primeval of our senses. — Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026 The landscape of Rapa Nui probably never incorporated the sort of primeval forest of palm trees imagined in popular accounts, Pitts writes, but was more mixed, and scrubbier, with no one species of charismatic megaflora dominating. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026 Astrophysicists now believe that this nebulous stuff is a stellar incubator; the primeval chaos from which star formation is presently underway. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 Jan. 2026 Instead, the franchise has been retooled for this brutal and bleak moment, further weaponizing desperation at a time when competition already feels omnipresent and almost primeval. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for primeval
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primeval
  1. ancient
  2. primitive
  3. primal
  4. prehistoric
  5. primordial
  6. early
Adjective
  • Like yoga or dance, the experience is a workout that feels in alignment with the body’s natural movements, at an intensity appropriate to wielding an ancient weapon.
    — Rebecca Leib, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Villa Celimontana dates to the 16th century, when it was developed as a noble residence on Caelian Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of ancient
Adjective
  • The Düsseldorf group’s version of LUCA would have possessed many of the ingredients needed by living systems, including a primitive form of genetic encoding, as well as metabolic chemical reactions required to harness energy.
    — Philip Ball, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
  • If Russia behaved badly, that was the fault of its primitive and cruel Asian side, a notion that conveniently created the fiction that Western countries are not capable of similar cruelty.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of primitive
Adjective
  • The following tracks only get knottier and denser, but Sweeping Promises never stops setting primal immediacy against granular precision and letting the sparks fly.
    — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The children grew manic with glee, their lightsabres flailing, their patriotism sublimated into something more primal.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of primal
Adjective
  • My kids could never get enough of Dinosaur Land, a walk-through theme park with more than 50 life-sized replicas of these beloved prehistoric creatures made out of fiberglass.
    — Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • This caused the prehistoric Tethys Ocean, which once separated the supercontinents of Laurasia and Gondwana, to shrink.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of prehistoric
Adjective
  • Dark stars are hypothetical primordial stars that, rather than producing energy through nuclear fusion, are instead powered by self-annihilating dark matter within their cores.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Their results recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters signal a major breakthrough in quantum physics—one that indicates a primordial quark-gluon plasma soup is actually possible with lighter ingredients.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of primordial
Adjective
  • The book discusses Andrew Carnegie, one of the wealthiest people of the late 19th and early 20th century.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Hansen’s sentence was first reduced to 25 years to life, and the state later created a pathway to earlier parole for many youthful offenders serving life sentences.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of early

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primes
primeval
priming
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Cite this Entry

“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primeval. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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