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
Relevance
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
After a 30-minute tug of war, finally seeing the bony plates of the prehistoric fish emerge from the murky depths of the Snake feels like uncovering the last surviving creature to slither out of the primordial ooze shortly after the Earth cooled.
—
Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Visitors to the La Brea Tar Pits are aware of the species’ role in the ecosystem of primordial Southern California, thanks to a wall at the museum displaying hundreds of dire wolf skulls extracted from the ooze.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
That’s because the five-to-ten-million-year window in time when this gas had such a primordial composition was so short.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
By analyzing those subtle orbital tilts, the researchers were able to reverse-engineer Jupiter's primordial size and magnetic strength, according to the new study.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for primordial
Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Visitors to the La Brea Tar Pits are aware of the species’ role in the ecosystem of primordial Southern California, thanks to a wall at the museum displaying hundreds of dire wolf skulls extracted from the ooze.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
That’s because the five-to-ten-million-year window in time when this gas had such a primordial composition was so short.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
By analyzing those subtle orbital tilts, the researchers were able to reverse-engineer Jupiter's primordial size and magnetic strength, according to the new study.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for primordial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primordial
Adjective
-
Scientists can deduce historic oxygen levels by analyzing ancient rocks (like Banded Iron Formations) because their chemical composition depend on the amount of oxygen available when they were formed.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
The theory of natural selection persevered, and the lengthy record of our ancient roots began to fill out.—
Laura Poppick,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
-
Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
-
He was also helped by film composer John Williams’ memorable two-note motif in the Jaws soundtrack that fed into primal fears about unseen predators being afoot and approaching.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
20 June 2025
-
Two simple notes – E and F – have become synonymous with tension, fear and sharks, representing the primal dread of being stalked by a predator.—
Jared Bahir Browsh,
The Conversation,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
As for the chthonic powers who might intrude upon us, the worst must be the Titans, primeval offspring of Gaia and Uranus, Earth and Sky.—
Lewis Hyde,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
-
The limp is the primeval sign, in many cultural myth systems, of autochthony: humans born from the earth, parentless.—
Nicholas Dames,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Humans, therefore, are assumed to be inherently tribal because of our prehistoric ancestors.—
Dr. Rami Kaminski,
Time,
18 June 2025
-
Set five years after Jurassic World: Dominion, the movie sees an expedition brave isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a groundbreaking medical breakthrough.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
City Comptroller Brad Lander was in third place in the early returns, pulling about 12% in the unofficial results, tallies showed.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
25 June 2025
-
The New York City Board of Elections reported that its unofficial count of early votes in 2025 is 384,338, while AMNY reported that the board said 191,197 people voted early in 2021.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primordial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primordial. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share