primitive

[ prim-i-tiv ]

/ ˈprɪm ɪ tɪv /

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See synonyms for: primitive / primitives / primitively / primitiveness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

being the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, especially in an early age of the world: primitive forms of life.

early in the history of the world or of humankind.

characteristic of early ages or of an early state of human development: primitive toolmaking.

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

unaffected or little affected by civilizing influences; uncivilized: primitive passions.

being in its earliest period; early: the primitive phase of the history of a town.

old-fashioned: primitive ideas and habits.

simple; unsophisticated: a primitive farm implement.

crude; unrefined: primitive living conditions.

Linguistics.

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

primary, as distinguished from secondary.

Biology.

rudimentary; primordial.
noting species, varieties, etc., only slightly evolved from early antecedent types.
of early formation and temporary, as a part that subsequently disappears.

noun

someone or something primitive.

Fine Arts.

an artist of a preliterate culture.
a naive or unschooled artist.
an artist belonging to the early stage in the development of a style.
a work of art by a primitive artist.

Mathematics.

a geometric or algebraic form or expression from which another is derived.
a function of which the derivative is a given function.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR primitive

1, 2 prehistoric, primal, primary, primordial, original, antediluvian, pristine.

See synonyms for primitive on Thesaurus.com

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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

synonym study for primitive

1, 2. See prime.

OTHER WORDS FROM primitive

prim·i·tive·ly, adverbprim·i·tive·ness, prim·i·tiv·i·ty, nounnon·prim·i·tive, adjective, nounnon·prim·i·tive·ly, adverb

non·prim·i·tive·ness, nounpre·prim·i·tive, adjectivepseu·do·prim·i·tive, adjectivesem·i·prim·i·tive, adjectiveun·prim·i·tive, adjectiveun·prim·i·tive·ly, adverbun·prim·i·tive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use primitive in a sentence

A lean-toOne of the simplest and most frequently constructed primitive shelters is the lean-to.
Winter survival shelters you should know how to build|By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life|December 21, 2020|Popular-Science
Although the people of the Paleolithic are often perceived as primitive and conservative in their goals, “I feel something very different from the evidence of human presence on these remote islands,” Kaifu says.
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands|Charles Choi|December 3, 2020|Science News
They were also catalysts to the first appearances of primitive life.
After 1.5 Billion Years in Flux, Here’s How a New, Stronger Crust Set the Stage for Life on Earth|Fabio A Capitanio|December 3, 2020|Singularity Hub
All of this went a long way toward helping scientists better understand Ryugu, a primitive rock rich in carbon, though more porous, rubbly, and containing less hydrated minerals than initially predicted.
Japan is about to bring back samples of an asteroid 180 million miles away|Neel Patel|December 2, 2020|MIT Technology Review

We can just study the collective behavior of things that are like soups of interacting proteins that are more primitive.
The Physicist’s New Book of Life - Issue 92: Frontiers|Michael Brooks|October 21, 2020|Nautilus
Curious jumble of modern and ancient city and village, primitiveness and the other thing.
What Made Twain Famous|Nathaniel Rich|April 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It is important to realize the relative primitiveness of transportation at the close of the Civil War.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations|William Z. Ripley
Primitiveness, we must remember, does not depend on antiquity of date.
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang
You may get a gazelle on the way, or you may not, but you will experience mountain exploration in all its primitiveness.
In the Land of Mosques & Minarets|Francis Miltoun
“I fear you will detect much initial primitiveness in our methods of transportation,” he said.
Red Men and White|Owen Wister
This charm (let me add) by no means consists in mere primitiveness or mere archaism.
From a Cornish Window|Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for primitive

primitive

/ (ˈprɪmɪtɪv) /

adjective

of or belonging to the first or beginning; original

characteristic of an early state, esp in being crude or uncivilizeda primitive dwelling

anthropol denoting or relating to a preliterate and nonindustrial social system

biology

of, relating to, or resembling an early stage in the evolutionary development of a particular group of organismsprimitive amphibians
another word for primordial (def. 3)

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

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

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

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

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

noun

a primitive person or thing

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
a painter of the pre-Renaissance era in European painting
a painter of any era whose work appears childlike or untrainedAlso called (for senses 11a, 11c): naive

a work by such an artist

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

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

Derived forms of primitive

primitively, adverbprimitiveness, noun

Word Origin for primitive

C14: from Latin prīmitīvus earliest of its kind, primitive, from prīmus first

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

Medical definitions for primitive

primitive

[ prĭm′ĭ-tĭv ]

adj.

Primary; basic.

Of or being an earliest or original stage.

Being little evolved from an early ancestral type.

Scientific definitions for primitive

primitive

[ prĭm′ĭ-tĭv ]

Relating to an early or original stage.

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

primitive

OTHER WORDS FOR primitive

Origin of primitive

synonym study for primitive

OTHER WORDS FROM primitive

Words related to primitive

How to use primitive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for primitive

Derived forms of primitive

Word Origin for primitive

Medical definitions for primitive

Scientific definitions for primitive