PRIMITIVE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for PRIMITIVE?

Need another word that means the same as “primitive”? Find 37 synonyms and 30 related words for “primitive” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Primitive” are: naive, archaic, crude, rude, ancient, earliest, first, prehistoric, antediluvian, antique, primordial, primeval, primal, primary, lower, original, preliterate, simple, natural, unsophisticated, unaffected, undeveloped, childlike, innocent, artless, unpretentious, rough, basic, elementary, rudimentary, unrefined, rough and ready, makeshift, incomplete, embryonic, immature, primitive person

Primitive as a Noun

Definitions of "Primitive" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “primitive” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• An artist deliberately employing a simple, naive style.
• A person who belongs to an early stage of civilization.
• Any of a set of basic geometric shapes which may be generated in computer graphics.
• A person belonging to a preliterate, non-industrial society.
• A painting by a primitive artist, or an object in a primitive style.
• A word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms.
• An algebraic or geometric expression from which another is derived; a curve of which another is the polar or reciprocal.
• A word, base, or root from which another is historically derived.
• A mathematical expression from which another expression is derived.
• A pre-Renaissance painter, or one who imitates the pre-Renaissance style.

Synonyms of "Primitive" as a noun (1 Word)

primitive person

A word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms.

Usage Examples of "Primitive" as a noun

• The program includes a complete set of drawing primitives.
• Santa Fe style antiques and Mexican primitives.
• The Catalan primitives.
• Ohio primitives such as treenware utensils.
• `pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived.
• Reports of travellers and missionaries described contemporary primitives.

Primitive as an Adjective

Definitions of "Primitive" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “primitive” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness.
• Relating to or denoting a preliterate, non-industrial society or culture characterized by simple social and economic organization.
• Not developed or derived from anything else.
• Of or denoting a simple, naive style of art that deliberately rejects sophisticated artistic techniques.
• Relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something.
• (of an algebraic or geometric expression) from which another is derived, or which is not itself derived from another.
• Denoting a word, base, or root from which another is historically derived.
• (of a part or structure) in the first or early stage of formation or growth; rudimentary.
• (of behaviour or emotion) apparently originating in unconscious needs or desires and unaffected by objective reasoning.
• Of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style.
• Used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies.
• Little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type.
• Very basic or unsophisticated in terms of comfort, convenience, or efficiency.

Synonyms of "Primitive" as an adjective (36 Words)

ancient	Having been in existence for a very long time. Ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians.
antediluvian	Of or relating to the period before the biblical flood. A ramshackle antediluvian tenement.
antique	Having a high value because of age and quality. Bookshelves with an antique finish.
archaic	Very old or old-fashioned. A term with a rather archaic ring to it.
artless	Without guile or deception. An artless naive girl.
basic	Forming an essential foundation or starting point; fundamental. The food was good if a bit basic.
childlike	Exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity. Childlike charm.
crude	Belonging to an early stage of technical development characterized by simplicity and often crudeness. The measure was condemned by economists as crude and ill conceived.
earliest	Expected in the near future. Verdi s earliest and most raucous opera.
elementary	Of or pertaining to or characteristic of elementary school or elementary education. An elementary problem in statistics.
embryonic	Relating to an embryo. In the embryonic stage.
first	Preceding all others in time or space or degree. First soprano.
immature	(of birds) not yet having developed feathers. Immature behavior.
incomplete	Not complete or total; not completed. The analysis remains incomplete.
innocent	Lacking sense or awareness. A man innocent of war s cruelties.
lower	Situated to the south. Land of a lower quality.
makeshift	Done or made using whatever is available. Arranging a row of chairs to form a makeshift bed.
naive	Of or created by one without formal training simple or naive in style. I was politically naive.
natural	Relating to earthly human or physical nature as distinct from the spiritual or supernatural realm. Natural gas.
original	Not derived or copied or translated from something else. The original owner of the house.
prehistoric	Belonging to or existing in times before recorded history. Prehistoric man.
preliterate	Used of a society that has not developed writing. Preliterate myths and rituals.
primal	Most important; primary or fundamental. Primal eras before the appearance of life on earth.
primary	Of primary importance. Primary sources.
primeval	Having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state. The forest primeval.
primordial	(of a cell, part, or tissue) in the earliest stage of development. Primordial forms of life.
rough	(of weather or the sea) wild and stormy. Rough blankets.
rough and ready	Causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements.
rude	Belonging to an early stage of technical development characterized by simplicity and often crudeness. She had been rude to her boss.
rudimentary	Being or involving basic facts or principles. He received a rudimentary education.
simple	Having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved. A quiet unassuming man with simple tastes.
unaffected	Without artificiality or insincerity. Fibers remained apparently unaffected by the treatment.
undeveloped	Undeveloped or unused. Taxes on undeveloped lots are low.
unpretentious	Not ostentatious. Her quiet unpretentious demeanor.
unrefined	Not refined or processed. Unrefined sugar.
unsophisticated	Awkwardly simple and provincial. The nightlife of Montmartre awed the unsophisticated tourists.

Usage Examples of "Primitive" as an adjective

• Primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking.
• The Fauves saw primitive art as a liberating force.
• Primitive Germanic.
• Primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains.
• Primitive movies of the 1890s.
• Primitive people.
• The accommodation at the camp was a bit primitive.
• Primitive material of the universe.
• Primitive mammals.
• The okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe.
• Primitive societies.
• The primitive responses we share with many animals.

Associations of "Primitive" (30 Words)

ancient	A person who lived in ancient times. The ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean.
anthropoid	Relating to the group of higher primates, which includes monkeys, apes, and humans. Anthropoid gods.
barbarian	Relating to ancient barbarians. Barbarian invasions.
barbaric	Uncivilized and uncultured. Drinking undiluted wine was considered barbaric.
barbarous	(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering. A remote and barbarous country.
brutal	Harsh. A brutal murder.
brutish	Resembling or characteristic of a brute. Brutish behaviour.
cosmogony	A theory regarding the origin of the universe. Today the central questions of cosmology and cosmogony are being explored within the framework of the Big Bang theory.
cruel	Causing pain or suffering. A cruel remark.
early	During an early stage. Early potatoes.
fell	The act of felling something as a tree.
ferocious	Very great; extreme. A ferocious beast.
fiendish	Extremely cruel or unpleasant. Fiendish methods of torture.
historic	Important in history. Historical or historic times.
incan	A member of the Quechuan people living in the Cuzco valley in Peru.
inhuman	Lacking human qualities of compassion and mercy; cruel and barbaric. The inhuman scale of the dinosaurs.
inhumane	Lacking and reflecting lack of pity or compassion. Confining wild horses is inhumane.
neolithic	Latest part of the Stone Age beginning about 10,000 BC in the Middle East (but later elsewhere.
paleolithic	Second part of the Stone Age beginning about 750,000 to 500,000 years BC and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8,500 years BC. Paleolithic artifacts.
pitiless	(especially of weather) unrelentingly harsh or severe. A pitiless executioner.
premature	Occurring or done before the usual or proper time; too early. Illness led to his premature death.
primeval	(of emotion or behaviour) strongly instinctive and unreasoning. The forest primeval.
primordial	(of a cell, part, or tissue) in the earliest stage of development. Primordial matter.
sadistic	Deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others. A sadistic killer.
savage	A cruelly rapacious person. He savaged the government for wasting billions in their failed bid to prop up the pound.
truculence	Obstreperous and defiant aggressiveness.
truculent	Eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant. The truculent attitude of farmers to cheaper imports.
uncivilized	Without civilizing influences. They pitied us for leaving the Smoke for such uncivilized remoteness.
vicious	Deliberately cruel or violent. Vicious gossip.