elemental

[el-uh-men-tl]

adjective

1. of the nature of an ultimate constituent; simple; uncompounded.

2. pertaining to rudiments or first principles.

3. starkly simple, primitive, or basic.

   a spare, elemental prose style; hate, lust, and other elemental emotions.

4. pertaining to the agencies, forces, or phenomena of physical nature.

   elemental gods.

5. comparable to the great forces of nature, as in power or magnitude.

   elemental grandeur.

6. of, relating to, or of the nature of the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, or of any one of them.

7. pertaining to chemical elements.

elemental

/ ˌɛlɪˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. fundamental; basic; primal

   the elemental needs of man

2. motivated by or symbolic of primitive and powerful natural forces or passions

   elemental rites of worship

3. of or relating to earth, air, water, and fire considered as elements

4. of or relating to atmospheric forces, esp wind, rain, and cold

5. of, relating to, or denoting a chemical element

noun

1. rare,  a spirit or force that is said to appear in physical form

Other Word Forms

• elementally adverb
• elementalism noun
• nonelemental adjective
• nonelementally adverb
• postelemental adjective
• preelemental adjective
• subelemental adjective
• subelementally adverb
• transelemental adjective
• unelemental adjective
• unelementally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of elemental¹

From the Medieval Latin word elementālis, dating back to 1485–95. See element, -al ¹

Example Sentences

With no dialog or other performers as a crutch, Redford was forced to act on an elemental level in a manner he had never done before.

From Los Angeles Times

Somehow, Riley’s drawing produced an astonishingly beautiful work sounding like a 21st century Ravel at his most elementally magical.

From Los Angeles Times

Just don’t expect anything about this elemental contest to be explained to you, or even contextualized.

From Los Angeles Times

"You've just murdered a sentinel of time and elemental spirit of Northumberland," he raged on social media.

From BBC

The skeletal score by Carlos Alfonso Corral, who doubles as the film’s cinematographer, hints at an elemental menace just over the horizon.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• elementary