primitive

American  

[prim-i-tiv] / ˈprɪm ɪ tɪv /

adjective

1. being the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, especially in an early age of the world.

   primitive forms of life.

   Synonyms:

   pristine, antediluvian, original, primordial, primary, primal, prehistoric

2. early in the history of the world or of humankind.

   Synonyms:

   pristine, antediluvian, original, primordial, primary, primal, prehistoric

3. characteristic of early ages or of an early state of human development.

   primitive toolmaking.

4. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) of or relating to a preliterate or tribal people having cultural or physical similarities with their early ancestors.

5. unaffected or little affected by civilizing influences; uncivilized.

   primitive passions.

6. being in its earliest period; early.

   the primitive phase of the history of a town.

7. old-fashioned.

   primitive ideas and habits.

8. simple; unsophisticated.

   a primitive farm implement.

9. crude; unrefined.

   primitive living conditions.

10. Linguistics.

    1. of or relating to a form from which a word or other linguistic form is derived; not derivative; original or radical.

    2. of or relating to a protolanguage.

    3. of or relating to a linguistic prime.

11. primary, as distinguished from secondary.

12. Biology.

    1. rudimentary; primordial.

    2. noting species, varieties, etc., only slightly evolved from early antecedent types.

    3. of early formation and temporary, as a part that subsequently disappears.

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noun

primitives plural

1. someone or something primitive.

2. Fine Arts.

   1. an artist of a preliterate culture.

   2. a naive or unschooled artist.

   3. an artist belonging to the early stage in the development of a style.

   4. a work of art by a primitive artist.

3. Mathematics.

   1. a geometric or algebraic form or expression from which another is derived.

   2. a function of which the derivative is a given function.

4. Linguistics. the form from which a given word or other linguistic form has been derived, by either morphological or historical processes, as take in undertake.

primitive British  

/ ˈprɪmɪtɪv /

adjective

1. of or belonging to the first or beginning; original

2. characteristic of an early state, esp in being crude or uncivilized

   a primitive dwelling

3. anthropol denoting or relating to a preliterate and nonindustrial social system

4. biology

   1. of, relating to, or resembling an early stage in the evolutionary development of a particular group of organisms

      primitive amphibians

   2. another word for primordial

5. showing the characteristics of primitive painters; untrained, childlike, or naive

6. geology pertaining to magmas that have experienced only small degrees of fractional crystallization or crystal contamination

7. obsolete of, relating to, or denoting rocks formed in or before the Palaeozoic era

8. obsolete denoting a word from which another word is derived, as for example hope, from which hopeless is derived

9. Protestant theol of, relating to, or associated with a minority group that breaks away from a sect, denomination, or Church in order to return to what is regarded as the original simplicity of the Gospels

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noun

1. a primitive person or thing

2. 1. an artist whose work does not conform to traditional, academic, or avant-garde standards of Western painting, such as a painter from an African or Oceanic civilization

   2. a painter of the pre-Renaissance era in European painting

   3. Also called (for senses 11a, 11c): naive.  a painter of any era whose work appears childlike or untrained

3. a work by such an artist

4. a word or concept from which another word or concept is derived

5. maths a curve, function, or other form from which another is derived

primitive Scientific  

/ prĭm′ĭ-tĭv /

1. Relating to an early or original stage.

2. Having evolved very little from an early type. Lampreys and sturgeon are primitive fishes.

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Synonym Usage

See prime.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprimitiveness
  noun
• primitiveness
  noun
• primitivity
  noun
• unprimitiveness
  noun
• nonprimitive
  adjective
• preprimitive
  adjective
• pseudoprimitive
  adjective
• semiprimitive
  adjective
• unprimitive
  adjective
• nonprimitively
  adverb
• primitively
  adverb
• unprimitively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• primitives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of primitive

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (noun and adjective) (from Middle French primitif ), from Latin prīmitīvus “first of its kind.” See prime, -itive

Explanation

When we talk about "primitive man", we're usually talking about cavemen and other people who existed before the advent of table manners, but if your uncle speaks grunts and chews with his mouth open, you could describe him as primitive too. Primitive is related to the word prime, and the root of both words is primus, which is Latin for "first." Since the phrase "primitive man" refers to the world's first people, you might think that the word primate has something to do with the similarity between early humans and monkeys, but it doesn't. Monkey, apes, and humans are called primates because they're seen as standing on the first, or highest, rung of the animal-kingdom ladder.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

primitive primitives

This spawned a series of comical situations, much slapstick and the use of fairly primitive special effects, mainly sped-up film.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

These cells developed into a primitive central eye, also known as a median eye.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

Their frantic energy would fit in right alongside Mack Sennett’s pie-throwers and the primitive animated shorts of Felix the Cat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

It sounds pretty primitive but that's what they're doing.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

In many ways he was still very primitive, but he liked people a great deal and would lean against your leg to be petted.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

In our view, these are the computational primitives of the system.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 24, 2025

“You’ve got options. You’re only constrained by the primitives you’ve built and your imagination.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

These omissions feel particularly glaring in light of how Aly excoriates the scholars of the era for viewing the islanders as history-less primitives who simply “died out” after contact with the modern world.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023

Two lazy primitives begin an epic journey through the ancient world after they are banished from their village.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2020

Now, I suppose you’re going to say, but, Mister Ibis, these people were primitives, they didn’t have radio controls and vitamin pills and jet airplanes.”

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Related Words

• archaic
• basic
• primeval
• primordial
• pristine
• undeveloped