Synonyms for primitive
ˈprɪm ɪ tɪvprim·i·tive

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. primitive

   Aboriginal (Latin ab, from, origo, origin) signifies pertaining to the aborigines or earliest known inhabitants of a country in the widest sense, including not merely human beings but inferior animals and plants as well. Autochthonic (Greek autos, self, and chthōn, earth) signifies sprung from the earth, especially from the soil of one's native land. Primeval (Latin primum, first, and ævum, age), signifies strictly belonging to the first ages, earliest in time, but often only the earliest of which man knows or conceives, immemorial. Aboriginal, autochthonic, and primeval combine the meanings of ancient and original; aboriginal inhabitants, autochthonic races, primeval forests. Prime and primary may signify either first in time, or more frequently first in importance; primary has also the sense of elementary or preparatory; we speak of a prime minister, a primary school. Primal is chiefly poetic, in the sense of prime; as, the primal curse. Primordial is first in an order of succession or development; as, a primordial leaf. Primitive frequently signifies having the original characteristics of that which it represents, as well as standing first in time; as, the primitive church. Primitive also very frequently signifies having the original or early characteristics without remoteness in time. Primeval simplicity is the simplicity of the earliest ages; primitive simplicity may be found in retired villages now. Pristine is an elegant word, used almost exclusively in a good sense of that which is original and perhaps ancient; as, pristine purity, innocence, vigor. That which is both an original and natural product of a soil or country is said to be indigenous; that which is actually produced there is said to be native, though it may be of foreign extraction; humming-birds are indigenous to America; canaries may be native, but are not indigenous. Immemorial refers solely to time, independently of quality, denoting, in legal phrase, "that whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary;" as, an immemorial custom; an immemorial abuse. Compare OLD.

   Compare synonyms for NEW.

   Synonyms:
   aboriginal, ancient, autochthonic, immemorial, indigenous, native, old, original, patriarchal, primal, primary, prime, primeval, primordial, pristine, uncreated

   Antonyms:
   adventitious, exotic, foreign, fresh, late, modern, new, novel, recent

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. primitive

   Synonyms:
   old-fashioned, primeval, quaint, simple, unsophisticated, archaic, pristine

   Antonyms:
   modern, new-fangled, sophisticated, modish

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:4.5 / 2 votes

1. primitive, primitive personnoun

   a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization

   Synonyms:
   primitive person

   Antonyms:
   civilised, trained, late, later(a), civilized

2. primitivenoun

   a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived

   Synonyms:
   primitive person

   Antonyms:
   late, later(a), civilised, trained, civilized

3. primitiveadjective

   a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms

   "`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived"

   Synonyms:
   primitive person

   Antonyms:
   later(a), civilised, late, trained, civilized

4. crude, primitive, rudeadjective

   belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness

   "the crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man"; "primitive movies of the 1890s"; "primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains"

   Synonyms:
   bad-mannered, ill-bred, rough, yokelish, unrefined, rude, crude(a), underbred, rude(a), vulgar, bounderish, archaic, gross, raw, lowbred, naive, stark(a), earthy, crude, unprocessed, blunt, ill-mannered, unmannered, raw(a), unmannerly, natural, uncivil

   Antonyms:
   late, trained, civilised, later(a), civilized

5. archaic, primitiveadjective

   little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type

   "archaic forms of life"; "primitive mammals"; "the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"

   Synonyms:
   archaic, naive, antiquated, crude, rude, antediluvian

   Antonyms:
   later(a), late, civilised, trained, civilized

6. primitiveadjective

   used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies

   "primitive societies"

   Synonyms:
   naive, crude, rude, archaic

   Antonyms:
   trained, late, civilized, later(a), civilised

7. primitive, naiveadjective

   of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style

   "primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking"

   Synonyms:
   rude, uninstructed, uninitiate, unenlightened, naive, archaic, uninitiated, crude, naif

   Antonyms:
   later(a), trained, late, civilised, civilized

Matched Categories

1. • Anthropology
   • Fine Arts
   • Formula

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. primitiveadjective

   Synonyms:
   primeval, primal, prime, primordial, original, aboriginal, pristine, primary, first

2. primitiveadjective

   Synonyms:
   radical, underived

3. primitiveadjective

   Synonyms:
   original, primeval, primal, primordial, aboriginal, prime, primary pristine, first

4. primitiveadjective

   Synonyms:
   radical, underived

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. primitiveadjective

   Synonyms:
   pristine, primordial, primeval, primal, antique, quaint, old-fashioned, original, radical, primary

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:4.0 / 1 vote

1. List of paraphrases for "primitive":

   primitives, primeval, primal, rudimentary, improvised, original, rustic, incivility, pristine, primordial

How to pronounce primitive?

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How to use primitive in a sentence?

1. Andres Meira:

   Until you live in one of these places you don't really understand the primitive fear of earthquakes, there are times when you can't sleep and sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and make sure things aren't moving.

2. Brian Harrell:

   This typically very primitive style attack equals millions of dollars in damage, if you were to shoot out some very key components you can quickly create an effect where this large multimillion dollar transformer becomes essentially a paperweight.

3. Martin Rees:

   We don't know much about aliens, but we know about humans, if you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilizations with advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced. A civilization reading one of our messages could be billions of years ahead of us. If so, they will be vastly more powerful, and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.

4. John Long:

   I think it is a highly significant discovery, as the origin and diversificationof modern bony-jawed fishesis still shrouded in mystery, but Janiusiscus takes us abig step closer to really understandingthis major evolutionary transition, from primitive jawed fishes to the beginning of themodern jawed fish fauna.

5. Boris Sauterey:

   Could Mars still be inhabited today by micro-organisms descending from this primitive biosphere? if so, where?