elemental
of the nature of an ultimate constituent; simple; uncompounded.
pertaining to rudiments or first principles.
starkly simple, primitive, or basic: a spare, elemental prose style; hate, lust, and other elemental emotions.
pertaining to the agencies, forces, or phenomena of physical nature: elemental gods.
comparable to the great forces of nature, as in power or magnitude:elemental grandeur.
of, relating to, or of the nature of the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, or of any one of them.
pertaining to chemical elements.
Origin of elemental
1Other words from elemental
- el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
- non·el·e·men·tal, adjective
- non·el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
- post·el·e·men·tal, adjective
- pre·el·e·men·tal, adjective
- sub·el·e·men·tal, adjective
- sub·el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
- trans·el·e·men·tal, adjective
- un·el·e·men·tal, adjective
- un·el·e·men·tal·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with elemental
- elemental , elementary
Words Nearby elemental
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use elemental in a sentence
I have never had to deal with alkaline soil, but a few farmers have told me the fastest way to correct it is a heavy application of elemental sulfur.
Soil tests are the secret to a bountiful home garden | Alex Gyllstrom/Field & Stream | August 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceSo Jupiter’s elemental recipe should resemble the sun’s — at least for elements that were gases.
Born in deep shadows? That could explain Jupiter’s strange makeup | Ken Croswell | August 6, 2021 | Science News For StudentsRunning fast, jumping high, and throwing objects a long way are elemental human pursuits at the core of many other sports like soccer, football, and basketball.
The origins of the Olympics’ obscure track and field events | Oliver Staley | July 24, 2021 | QuartzIn the early 2000s, Seattle’s boosters marketed the city with an ad campaign called “Metronatural,” showing a kayak atop a car on a downtown street to sell the idea that the great outdoors was elemental to life there.
In America’s least air-conditioned cities, brutal heat changes some people’s minds | Marc Fisher, Carissa Wolf, Michael Hingston | July 22, 2021 | Washington PostBy analyzing the star’s elemental makeup, which is like a star’s genetic instruction book, astronomers peered back into the star’s family history.
Souped-up supernovas may produce much of the universe’s heavy elements | Mara Johnson-Groh | July 7, 2021 | Science News
The word primitive does not do justice to the elemental nature of dining in one of the great barbecue parlors of this region.
Instead, like millions of her generation who remember a land before loss, what she really wants is something more elemental.
"It's all very elemental," is how designer Phillip Lim described his Spring/Summer 2014 collection.
He returned medicine to its most elemental form—a profession that tries to help out someone who is sick.
C. Everett Koop: Pioneering Surgeon General Spurred Reagan Response to AIDS | Kent Sepkowitz | February 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYet it does point out how elemental health and health care are—for both citizens and those running for election.
But there was another storm raging in those streets, more terrible than any elemental warfare.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. AbbottIn such, or fitter words, does Camille evoke the elemental Powers, in this great moment.
A Wanderer in Paris | E. V. LucasThey deal with the most elemental religious conceptions and are full of the imagery of nature.
Sacred Books of the East | VariousBehind each of those tiny garret windows lurks life—life in its most elemental costume.
My Wonderful Visit | Charlie ChaplinThere is a time for all things, even for the elemental talk of frontiersmen on a holiday.
The Highgrader | William MacLeod Raine
British Dictionary definitions for elemental
/ (ˌɛlɪˈmɛntəl) /
fundamental; basic; primal: the elemental needs of man
motivated by or symbolic of primitive and powerful natural forces or passions: elemental rites of worship
of or relating to earth, air, water, and fire considered as elements
of or relating to atmospheric forces, esp wind, rain, and cold
of, relating to, or denoting a chemical element
rare a spirit or force that is said to appear in physical form
Derived forms of elemental
- elementally, adverb
- elementalism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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