rudimentary
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to rudiments or first principles; elementary.
a rudimentary knowledge of geometry.
- Synonyms:
- initial, fundamental
- Antonyms:
- advanced
-
Biology. of the nature of a rudiment; undeveloped or vestigial.
- Synonyms:
- embryonic
- Antonyms:
- mature
-
in an early, imperfect stage or form.
How can we improve upon this admittedly rudimentary theory?
adjective
-
basic; fundamental; not elaborated or perfected
-
incompletely developed; vestigial
rudimentary leaves
Synonym Usage
See elementary.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rudimentary
Explanation
Rudimentary means basic, or at a very early stage. The test should be easy: it requires only a rudimentary understanding of the materials. The word rude means simple or offensive — and people with only rudimentary understanding of good manners might not know how that belching is rude. If you remember that the word rude is the foundation of rudimentary, you'll have a rudimentary understanding of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing rudimentary
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The fishermen, who live in rudimentary wooden houses on stilts, say they now earn no more than $10 to $20 a week from catches, compared to $100 a decade ago.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
A rudimentary shell of the 52 sq km complex was visible in December.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
“I went to see how these little stores in New York got their supplies, and I really thought it was very rudimentary and not very efficient,” he said during the talk in 2011.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The other was being recruited by Arnold Beckman, a Caltech alum, a renowned inventor of scientific instruments, and scientific advisor to L.A.’s rudimentary air pollution control operation.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
With another series of grunts they heaved it over the ship’s warped decking and rolled it to where a rudimentary crane had been set up.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
