1
as in rudimentary
belonging to or characteristic of an early level of skill or development
primitive wooden tools were used before the Iron Age
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
a primitive period in church history when members still lived in communes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
her taste in art was still primitive, but she knew schlock when she saw it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in barbarian
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of primitive
Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
There are also several primitive campgrounds spaced out around the park.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2026
Quanta Magazine, 1 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, humans have regressed into being primitives that the apes hunt for sport, or feed out of pity from beside their campfire.
—EW.com, 2 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for primitive
Adjective
The education center and two semi-primitive campgrounds feature vault toilets.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
There are also several primitive campgrounds spaced out around the park.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
It can be used to achieve a lot of other cryptographic primitives.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Aug. 2024
Meanwhile, humans have regressed into being primitives that the apes hunt for sport, or feed out of pity from beside their campfire.
—EW.com, 2 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for primitive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primitive
Adjective
-
Rotifers, though microscopic, possess specialized systems such as digestive tracts and rudimentary nervous structures, making their long-term survival in a frozen state particularly notable.—
Brittany Miller,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
His pieces include solid wood chairs with a deliberately rudimentary, almost minimal design, integrating ornamental elements such as marquetry panels or tin bas-reliefs into their backs, legs or seats.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Summer means movies 🍿 From ancient Greece to a galaxy far, far away, the summer movie season has a blockbuster lineup of epic, sci-fi, superheroes and heroines to draw film fans to theaters.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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Each year, the city welcomes many curious visitors to experience the magnetism of ancient tradition meeting futuristic technology head-on.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
When a naïve piglet named Lucky (Gaten Matarazzo) rises to farmhouse leadership alongside the cunning boar Napoleon (Seth Rogen), the revolution sparked by their human farmer’s bankruptcy in the film‘s first act takes a turn for the fascist worse.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Not the naive version attempted in 2016.—
Emin Gün Sirer,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the reboot, Russell Crowe plays Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, the warrior first played by Connery, and Dave Bautista is The Kurgan, Brown’s brutal barbarian from the first movie.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
-
In most academic histories of European imperialism written in this century, the Europeans are the barbarians, killing and raping and looting on an unprecedented scale.—
David A. Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Model/Actriz’s songs reference Lady Gaga in one moment, then emit a primal scream the next.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2026
-
McIlroy threw back his head to the sky and let out a scream that was only half as primal and liberating as last year’s roar.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
July 23 – August 22 Clarity today comes from keeping your message simple and grounded.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Brown said Atlanta was taking away the Knicks’ spray game, which made the answer simpler.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Streep’s beloved ice queen portrayal wasn’t as savage as the book, where the character was a British dictator in designer glasses.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
-
One answer would be that the more savage the storm, the more urgent the need for safe havens.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Because the angle of Earth‘s magnetic field varies from the poles to the equator, these minerals act as a prehistoric GPS, allowing geoscientists to pinpoint a rock’s original location on the globe and chart its journey over millions of years.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Rewriting the Story of Ancient Cretaceous Oceans For decades, the narrative of prehistoric oceans has centered on massive vertebrates as the dominant predators.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Primitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primitive. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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