rudimentary

American  

[roo-duh-men-tuh-ree, -tree] / ˌru dəˈmɛn tə ri, -tri /

Often rudimental

adjective

1. pertaining to rudiments or first principles; elementary.

   a rudimentary knowledge of geometry.

   Synonyms:

   initial, fundamental

   Antonyms:

   advanced

2. Biology. of the nature of a rudiment; undeveloped or vestigial.

   Synonyms:

   embryonic

   Antonyms:

   mature

3. in an early, imperfect stage or form.

   How can we improve upon this admittedly rudimentary theory?

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rudimentary British  

/ ˌruːdɪˈmɛntərɪ /

adjective

1. basic; fundamental; not elaborated or perfected

2. incompletely developed; vestigial

   rudimentary leaves

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Related Words

See elementary.

Other Word Forms

• nonrudimental adjective
• nonrudimentarily adverb
• nonrudimentarilyness noun
• nonrudimentary adjective
• rudimentarily adverb
• rudimentariness noun

Etymology

Origin of rudimentary

First recorded in 1600–20; rudiment + -ary

Example Sentences

I began a rudimentary collection of rocks, stones, sticks, shells, and even fish bones.

From Literature

Those early demonstrations were rudimentary, with the drones able to fly together at a set distance and little else.

From The Wall Street Journal

While rudimentary, the Odyssey broke a barrier in the world of television.

From The Wall Street Journal

"I just took a very rudimentary, basic kit with me," he says.

From BBC

Until high school, I didn’t speak a lick of any language other than English — save for some rudimentary Spanish counting and what little of Spanish and French that kids pick up through the media.

From Salon

Related Words

• elemental
• elementary
• embryonic
• primitive
• simple