1
as in rudimentary
belonging to or characteristic of an early level of skill or development
primitive wooden tools were used before the Iron Age
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
a primitive period in church history when members still lived in communes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
her taste in art was still primitive, but she knew schlock when she saw it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in barbarian
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of primitive
Mike Giuliano, Howard County Times, 23 June 2017
A lot of the campgrounds are primitive, and lack some common amenities - including water.
—Jamie Hale, OregonLive.com, 6 July 2017
EW.com, 2 Nov. 2023
By identifying and then chaining together a series of motion primitives, the Amazon researchers have been able to achieve stowing success rates (in the lab) of better than 90 percent.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for primitive
Adjective
Constructed in front of the stone ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park in Ellicott City, that caveman-evocative set provides a suitably primitive stomping ground for the monstrous Caliban.
—Mike Giuliano, Howard County Times, 23 June 2017
A lot of the campgrounds are primitive, and lack some common amenities - including water.
—Jamie Hale, OregonLive.com, 6 July 2017
Noun
Meanwhile, humans have regressed into being primitives that the apes hunt for sport, or feed out of pity from beside their campfire.
—EW.com, 2 Nov. 2023
By identifying and then chaining together a series of motion primitives, the Amazon researchers have been able to achieve stowing success rates (in the lab) of better than 90 percent.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for primitive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primitive
Adjective
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Children’s Language Skills Young children whose language skills are rudimentary with tenses often confused are inexperienced reporters of what may have happened to them.—
Patricia Fersch,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
-
Previous rudimentary systems to communicate with these animals involved a large dolphin-nose-sized keyboard mounted to the side of the boat back in the 1990s.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The photo highlights the relative youth of human civilization by showing a 2,500-year-old temple that is ancient by the yardstick of human lives, alongside the 4.5 billion-year-old disk of Earth's moon, which has watched over humanity since our ancestors emerged from the oceans.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
13 May 2025
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Drive around the island and catch glimpses of past civilizations: ancient fig trees propped up by wooden crutches; centuries-old windmills that look like giant antique flyswatters; stone walls built by the Moors during the Middle Ages that somehow still look new.—
Julia Chaplin,
Travel + Leisure,
13 May 2025
Adjective
-
Don’t be naive and offer $500 for a premium domain name.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
-
But that naive, first-generation Polish-American girl soon became a force to be reckoned with.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
11 May 2025
Noun
-
Las Casas thought that the real barbarians weren’t the Indians but the Spaniards.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Scott himself was a bit like one of these barbarians, constantly attacking and unsettling a seemingly stable consensus on the value of state power, and of civilization itself.—
Nikil Saval,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The existence of any prehistoric apex predators in the islands of the Caribbean used to be doubted.—
Ashley Belanger – May 16,
ArsTechnica,
16 May 2025
-
The original show gave the prehistoric reptiles the nature documentary treatment, offering glimpses of a world that was ruled by dinosaurs millions of years ago through the magic of CGI and animatronics.—
Maira Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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The religious symbol was decorated with white florals and greenery, and served as the backdrop to Pell and James' simple and serene ceremony.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
12 May 2025
-
To help fortify children’s islands, parents can take a few simple steps: 1.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2023
-
Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.—
Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz,
Anchorage Daily News,
29 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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In this whole revelation that’s happened to him, some unexpected, primal thing is released.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
7 May 2025
-
The film celebrates artists who challenge the status quo and give voice to those on the fringes of society, all accompanied by a soundtrack that mixes traditional Japanese music with the thudding drums, wailing guitar, and primal screams of modern rock.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primitive. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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