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
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Recent Examples of primeval
There was another side to connect with, a rough, primeval, earthly energy.
—
Literary Hub, 3 Dec. 2025
The primeval lizards also harbor over 50 strains of bacteria in their mouths and their venomous saliva contains an anticoagulant and toxins that induce blood loss, shock, and paralysis in its victim.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2025
Sez Me … Since the first football player — all hairy and slumped over and naked — climbed out of the primeval swamp and tried to block an animal that hasn’t been seen since that giant asteroid smashed into Earth, it‘s been obvious.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Filled with unearthly landscapes, primeval forests, and twilight beaches, Anemone’s ornate visual design seems to underscore its characters’ emotional suffocation.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primeval
Literary Hub, 3 Dec. 2025
The primeval lizards also harbor over 50 strains of bacteria in their mouths and their venomous saliva contains an anticoagulant and toxins that induce blood loss, shock, and paralysis in its victim.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2025
Sez Me … Since the first football player — all hairy and slumped over and naked — climbed out of the primeval swamp and tried to block an animal that hasn’t been seen since that giant asteroid smashed into Earth, it‘s been obvious.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Filled with unearthly landscapes, primeval forests, and twilight beaches, Anemone’s ornate visual design seems to underscore its characters’ emotional suffocation.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primeval
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primeval
Adjective
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The neighborhood/area The Icelandic Highlands are an incredibly special part of the country—uninhabited and covered with sprawling mountains and ancient volcanoes.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 June 2026
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The air carries the scent of earth after rain — damp ancient stone, cellar walls, perhaps a trace of smoke.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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But the primitive areas of our brains still have connections from when our ancestors relied on smell to survive.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Charlotte Observer,
16 June 2026
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In another story, set in the far future, a scientist who had disappeared decades earlier reappears in an emergency shuttle, claiming to have been saved by a technologically primitive alien race.—
Alexandra Oliva,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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The question, of course, is what we are supposed to do with these bourgeois jeremiads against bourgeois civilization, beyond enjoying them as high-end primal-scream therapy.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
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Strutting across the stage, hitting little dances, casting sharp looks into the camera, unleashing primal Auto-screams—Jane Remover was confident at Gov Ball.—
Mano Sundaresan,
Pitchfork,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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In prehistoric times, that blue sensitivity would have meant that melatonin production fired up a couple of hours after sunset and shut down just before sunrise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
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The team found that the prehistoric plague developed in stages and infected several small families.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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Earth-impacting shrapnel from those primordial upheavals may have helped seed our planet with the precursors for life, delivering water and organic compounds from the dark, icy depths of the outer solar system.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
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At a time when the Earth was bare, when there were no vertebrates, no trees, no leaves, no flowering plants, and no plants with seeds, millipedes were feeding on decaying mosses, decomposed slime, and primordial gunk.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
13 June 2026
Adjective
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After weeks of overnight fuel thefts, Rocklin police arrested a suspect during an early Thursday traffic stop, the department announced.—
Reeti Malhotra,
Sacbee.com,
19 June 2026
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Alvarado said the bar made a last-minute decision to open early Thursday to screen the event.—
Hannah Kliger,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primeval. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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