primordial

adjective

prī-ˈmȯr-dē-əl How to pronounce primordial (audio)
Definition of primordialnext
as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period all life on Earth supposedly came from a primordial ooze in existence many millions of years ago

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 primordial Life on Earth is thought to have emerged from the primordial ooze some four billion years ago. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026 The primordial ooze here remains a blend of pluggnB and West Coast rap experimentalism a la Odd Future, the same sauce that linked 2023’s Balling Out of Spite with last year’s level-up art Pop*Pop Art. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 29 July 2026 The area around the park truly embodies the classic, primordial look of a southern swamp with its blackwater mirror reflections and towering cypress and tupelo trees with Spanish moss dangling from them. — Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 25 July 2026 Meddy is a teen mortal in a family of primordial sea deities. — Janey Wetzel, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for primordial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primordial
  1. ancient
  2. primitive
  3. primal
  4. primeval
  5. prehistoric
  6. early
Adjective
  • Although there are plenty of books in three languages (Arabic, French, and English), there are also museums, a planetarium, and a lab dedicated to restoring and preserving ancient manuscripts.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Unlike the other four, it was not protected as an ancient monument because it was believed to have been lost.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of ancient
Adjective
  • Between these spaces exists a world balanced on the edge of the modern and the primitive, the high-tech and the rural, the corporeal and the mythic.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
  • When the Followers began, healthcare on the Western frontier was primitive, unsanitary and riddled with con artists peddling fake cures.
    — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of primitive
Adjective
  • Cynically or not, Chin and Vasarhelyi understand that these primal thrills are enough to distract us from the frustrating and sorrowful truth at the center of the story.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Animals could offer liberatory models to throw off bourgeois conventions, returning Surrealists to primal ways of being.
    — Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of primal
Adjective
  • The work required felling primeval trees measuring six feet in diameter and digging a deep trench through the marsh to accommodate boat traffic.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Yeti takes place deep in the Alps, where an avalanche has unleashed something primeval from the glacial ice.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of primeval
Adjective
  • The National Museum alone lost almost two-thirds of its inventory, comprising nearly 100,000 artifacts that covered Sudan’s prehistoric age through its Nubian era, the Kingdom of Kush, the Christian era and its Islamic period.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Seeing those ancient sculptures would have a lasting impact on Cabrera, whose work contained forms that recall pagan ritual and prehistoric objects.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of prehistoric
Adjective
  • The extremely small separation between the two graphene systems allowed the screening effect to be much stronger than in earlier experiments.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors say Castro briefly struggled with Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, then fired through a front door into an occupied home, hitting him in the leg, contradicting earlier federal accounts.
    — Valerie Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of early

Browse Nearby Words

primogenitors
primordial
primp
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Cite this Entry

“Primordial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primordial. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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