English dictionary



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English adjective: primitive

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


SamplesThe crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man.
Primitive movies of the 1890s.
Primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains.


Synonymscrude, rude


Similarearly


Antonymslater, late

2. primitive little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type


SamplesArchaic forms of life.
Primitive mammals.
The okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe.


Synonymsarchaic


Similarearly


Antonymslater, late

3. primitive used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies


SamplesPrimitive societies.


Similarnoncivilised, noncivilized


Domain categoryanthropology


Antonymscivilised, civilized

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


SamplesPrimitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking.


Synonymsnaive


Similaruntrained


Domain categorybeaux arts, fine arts


Antonymstrained


English noun: primitive

1. primitive (person) a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization


Synonymsprimitive person


Broader (hypernym)individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul


Narrower (hyponym)ape-man, Aryan, autochthon, barbarian, Basket Maker, cave dweller, cave man, caveman, feral man, Heidelberg man, Homo heidelbergensis, Indo-European, missing link, Mound Builder, Piltdown hoax, Piltdown man, savage, troglodyte, wild man

2. primitive (communication) a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived


Broader (hypernym)expression, formula

3. primitive (communication) a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms


Samples`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived.


Broader (hypernym)word









Based on WordNet 3.0 copyright © Princeton University.
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