Primitive definition

prĭmĭ-tĭv
primitives
See word origin
Frequency:
(derogatory) An unsophisticated or unintelligent person.
noun
13
8
Of or existing in the beginning or the earliest times or ages; ancient; original.
adjective
6
2
The definition of primitive is something lacking in sophistication, or not advanced, or bare-bones condition or instincts that resemble animal-instincts and don't require thought.

An example of primitive is a society that has not yet developed or industrialized.

An example of primitive is a cabin in the woods as your sleeping accommodations.

An example of primitive is the urge to eat or use the bathroom.

adjective
5
1
Not resulting from conscious thought or deliberation; unconscious or instinctual.

Primitive passions.

adjective
1
1
Regarded as having changed little in evolutionary history. Not in scientific use.

The coelacanth is a primitive fish.

adjective
1
1
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Of or relating to an early or original stage or state; primeval.

Life in the primitive ocean.

adjective
0
1
Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms.

Pick is the primitive word from which picket is derived.

adjective
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1
One belonging to an early stage in the development of an artistic trend, especially a painter of the pre-Renaissance period.
noun
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1
An artist having or affecting a simple, direct, unschooled style, as of painting.
noun
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1
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A work of art created by a primitive artist.
noun
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1
A word or word element from which another word is derived by morphological or historical processes or from which inflected forms are derived.
noun
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1
A basic and indivisible unit of linguistic analysis.
noun
0
1
(anthrop.) Of or having to do with a preliterate, generally isolated, culture with a relatively low level of technology.
adjective
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1
Characteristic or imitative of the earliest ages.
adjective
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1
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Crude, simple, rough, uncivilized, etc.
adjective
0
1
Designating or of an organism, organ, etc. at the starting point of its evolutionary development or very little evolved from early ancestral types.
adjective
0
1
(gram.) The form from which a certain word or other form has been derived; root; base.
noun
0
1
An artist or a work of art of an early, esp. preliterate, culture.
noun
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1
An artist or a work of art that shows ingenuousness and lack of formal training.
noun
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1
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An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to derivative.
noun
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1
A member of a primitive society.
noun
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1
A simple-minded person.
noun
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1
(computing, programming) A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.
noun
0
1
A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.
noun
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1
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(mathematics) A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.
noun
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1
Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first.

Primitive innocence; the primitive church.

adjective
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1
Of or pertaining to or harking back to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity.

A primitive style of dress.

adjective
0
1
(grammar) Original; primary; radical; not derived.

A primitive verb.

adjective
0
1
(biology) Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.
adjective
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1
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Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.

Fossils of primitive angiosperms from the Cretaceous Period.

adjective
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2
Having developed early in the evolutionary history of a group.

Hair is a primitive trait of mammals.

adjective
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2
Being a protolanguage.

Primitive Germanic.

adjective
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2
Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style.
adjective
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2
Of or relating to late medieval or pre-Renaissance European painters or sculptors.
adjective
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2
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(mathematics) An algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived.
noun
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2
(computers) A basic or fundamental unit of machine instruction or translation.
noun
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2
Not derivative; primary; basic.
adjective
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2
(algebra, geom.) A form from which another is derived.
noun
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2
Relating to an early or original stage.
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Having evolved very little from an early type. Lampreys and sturgeon are primitive fishes.
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2
Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by an absence of literacy and a low level of economic or technological complexity.

Primitive societies.

adjective
0
3
One that is at a low or early stage of development.
noun
0
3
A primitive person or thing.
noun
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3
A person belonging to a nonindustrial, often tribal society, especially a society characterized by a low level of economic or technological complexity.
noun
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4
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Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated.

Primitive weapons.

adjective
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14
Not derived from something else; primary or basic.
adjective
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11

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
primitive
Plural:
primitives

Origin of primitive

  • Middle English from Old French primitif, primitive from Latin prīmitīvus from prīmitus at first from prīmus first per1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old French primitif, from Latin primitivus (“first or earliest of its kind"), from primus (“first"); see prime.

    From Wiktionary

Primitive Sentence Examples

  • First, nutrition is a very primitive science.

  • Even using extremely primitive technology, we have made marvelous progress.

  • When I saw the fern, I was reminded of primitive plants that I saw in a history video.

  • The Primitive Methodists in Ireland were a small body who in 1817 seceded because they wished to maintain that close connexion with the Church of England which existed at the time of Wesley's death, but in 1878 they rejoined the parent body.

  • War is the ultimate barbarism, the primitive belief that fighting determines who is right—but of course it doesn't.

More sentences

Related articles

Words near primitive in the Dictionary