Need another word that means the same as “primitive”? Find 37 synonyms and 30 related words for “primitive” in this overview.
- Primitive as a Noun
- Definitions of "Primitive" as a noun
- Synonyms of "Primitive" as a noun (1 Word)
- Usage Examples of "Primitive" as a noun
- Primitive as an Adjective
- Definitions of "Primitive" as an adjective
- Synonyms of "Primitive" as an adjective (36 Words)
- Usage Examples of "Primitive" as an adjective
- Associations of "Primitive" (30 Words)
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.
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Synonyms of "Primitive" as a noun (1 Word)
primitive person | A word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms. |
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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