Primitive Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of primitive is of, belonging to, or seeming to come from an early time in the very ancient past. See more meanings of primitive. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut primitive adjective SaveWord prim·​i·​tive |\ˈpri-mə-tiv \ EssentialMeaningofprimitive 1 :of,belongingto,orseemingtocomefromanearlytimeintheveryancientpast thetimewhenprimitivemanfirstlearnedtousefireprimitiveanimals/plants[=animals/plantsthatlivedinancienttimesorthathavenotchangedmuchsinceancienttimes] 2 :nothavingawrittenlanguage,advancedtechnology,etc. primitivesocieties/cultures 3 :verysimpleandbasic:madeordoneinawaythatisnotmodernandthatdoesnotshowmuchskill primitive[=crude]toolsThetechnologytheyusedwasprimitiveandoutdated.Thecamphadonlyaprimitiveoutdoortoilet. FullDefinitionofprimitive (Entry1of2) 1a :notderived:original,primary b :assumedasabasis especially :axiomatic primitiveconcepts 2a :oforrelatingtotheearliestageorperiod:primeval theprimitivechurch b :closelyapproximatinganearlyancestraltype:littleevolved primitivemammals c :belongingtoorcharacteristicofanearlystageofdevelopment:crude,rudimentary primitivetechnology d :of,relatingto,orconstitutingtheassumedparentspeechofrelatedlanguages primitiveGermanic 3a :elemental,natural ourprimitivefeelingsofvengeance—JohnMackwood b sometimesoffensive :of,relatingto,orproducedbyapeopleorculturethatisnonindustrialandoftennonliterateandtribal primitiveart c :naive d(1) :self-taught,untutored primitivecraftsmen (2) :producedbyaself-taughtartist aprimitivepainting primitive noun Definitionofprimitive (Entry2of2) 1a :somethingprimitive specifically :aprimitiveidea,term,orproposition b :arootword 2a(1) :anartistofanearlyperiodofacultureorartisticmovement (2) :alaterimitatororfollowerofsuchanartist b(1) :aself-taughtartist (2) :anartistwhoseworkismarkedbydirectnessandnaïveté c :aworkofartproducedbyaprimitiveartist d :atypicallyroughorsimpleusuallyhandmadeandantiquehomeaccessoryorfurnishing 3a :amemberofaprimitivepeople b :anunsophisticatedperson OtherWordsfromprimitive Synonyms&Antonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutprimitive OtherWordsfromprimitive Adjective primitively adverb primitiveness noun primitivity \ ˌpri-​mə-​ˈti-​və-​tē \ noun Synonyms&Antonymsforprimitive Synonyms:Adjective crude, low, rude, rudimentary Antonyms:Adjective advanced, developed, evolved, high, higher, late VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofprimitiveinaSentence Adjective thetimewhenprimitivemanfirstlearnedtousefire Thetechnologytheyusedwasprimitiveandoutdated. Thecamphadonlyaprimitiveoutdoortoilet. Noun ThemuseumisknownforitscollectionofAmericanprimitives. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adjective Houdesaidthesemammothanimalsareaprimitivegroupofproboscideans('elephantoids')fromwhichmodernelephantsevolved. — JosephJ.Kolb,FoxNews,18July2017 Manyareprimitiveandremote,anddon’thaverestroomsorwater. — OregonLive.com,12July2017 Here'showtotackleadauntingjobAprimitivedripirrigationsystemcouldbecobbledtogetherbyrunningwaterthroughanoldgardenhosethat'sriddledwithholesalongitslengthandhasitsendplugged. — LeeReich,DetroitFreePress,7July2017 TheparkoffersprimitiveandRVcampingwith41campsites,30ofwhichfeature30-to50-ampelectric,waterandsewer. — JoeSonger|[email protected],AL.com,22June2017 ConstructedinfrontofthestoneruinsofthePatapscoFemaleInstituteHistoricParkinEllicottCity,thatcaveman-evocativesetprovidesasuitablyprimitivestompinggroundforthemonstrousCaliban. — MikeGiuliano,HowardCountyTimes,23June2017 Alotofthecampgroundsareprimitive,andlacksomecommonamenities-includingwater. — JamieHale,OregonLive.com,6July2017 SouthBeachCampground,aprimitivecampgroundlocatedjustsouthofKalalochisopenthroughSeptember25. — BrianJ.Cantwell,TheSeattleTimes,28June2017 Canprimitivematerialsbringusclosertoourorigins? — DaisyAlioto,GQ,23June2017 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun DecentralizedstablecoinsareacrucialfinancialprimitiveforanyDeFiecosystem. — LeeorShimron,Forbes,27Oct.2021 AndonlyaprimitivewouldshootanARchamberedin.223withoutamatching.223riflescope. — AndrewMckean,OutdoorLife,18Aug.2020 Eachthreadgroupcanaccessgroupsharedmemorybutcanoutputverticesandprimitivesthatdon'tneedtocorrelatewithaspecificthreadinthegroup. — JimSalter,ArsTechnica,19Mar.2020 SkippingprimitiveinstantiationwithconfigtweaksDeveloperscanoptimizeraytracingpipelinesbyskippingunnecessaryprimitives. — JimSalter,ArsTechnica,19Mar.2020 Microsoftisalsoaskingdeveloperstostartthinkingaboutdual-screenlayoutsforMicrosoftEdge,withCSSprimitivesandaJavaScriptAPI. — MarkHachman,PCWorld,22Jan.2020 Featuringover200dealers,theshowoffersantiques,vintagejewelry,primitives,garden&architecturalelements,mid-centurycollectibles,memorabilia,Americana,one-of-a-kindfindsandalargeselectionofantiques,retro&vintagefurniture. — LuannGibbs,Cincinnati.com,14July2019 Laterwatercolors,decadesbeyondthedinofwar,captureblacksubjectsasromanticizedprimitivesamidtheburgeoninggrowthoftheCaribbeantouristindustry—coraldivinghere,swiggingfromacoconutthere. — BostonGlobe.com,4Oct.2019 Sincethattime,computerscientistshavedevelopedalargelibraryofsuchprimitives. — QuantaMagazine,10Dec.2012 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'primitive.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofprimitive Adjective 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aNoun 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforprimitive Adjective MiddleEnglishprymytyff,primitive"early(oftheChristianchurch),non-corporeal(ofthecauseofadisease),"borrowedfromMiddleFrench&MedievalLatin;MiddleFrenchprimitif"original,primary(ofacause),"borrowedfromMedievalLatinprīmitīvus"belongingtotheearliesttimeorstate,original,"goingbacktoLatin,"early,first-formed,"fromprīmitus"atfirst,forthefirsttime,originally"(fromprīmus"first,foremost,earliest"+-itus,adverbialsuffixoforigin)+-īvus-ive—moreatprimeentry2 Noun nounderivativeofprimitiveentry1;(sense1b)MiddleEnglish,borrowedfromMedievalLatinprīmitīvus,nounderivativeofprīmitīvus"primary,original" LearnMoreAboutprimitive Shareprimitive PosttheDefinitionofprimitivetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofprimitiveonTwitter TimeTravelerforprimitive Thefirstknownuseofprimitivewas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearprimitive primitial primitive primitivearea SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforprimitive Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Primitive.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primitive.Accessed8Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforprimitive primitive adjective prim·​i·​tive |\ˈpri-mə-tiv \ KidsDefinitionofprimitive 1 :oforbelongingtoveryearlytimes primitivecultures 2 :oforbelongingtoanearlystageofdevelopment primitivetools primitive adjective prim·​i·​tive |\ˈprim-ət-iv \ Medical Definitionofprimitive 1 :closelyapproximatinganearlyancestraltype:littleevolved 2 :belongingtoorcharacteristicofanearlystageofdevelopment primitivecells OtherWordsfromprimitive primitively adverb MorefromMerriam-Websteronprimitive Nglish:TranslationofprimitiveforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofprimitiveforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY milquetoast SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary NamethatThing:FlowerEdition Namethatflower hydrangea hyacinth amaryllis chrysanthemum Testyourvisualvocabularywithour10-questionchallenge! TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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