English adjective: primitive | |||
1. | primitive belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness | ||
Samples | The crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man. Primitive movies of the 1890s. Primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains. | ||
Synonyms | crude, rude | ||
Similar | early | ||
Antonyms | later, late | ||
2. | primitive little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type | ||
Samples | Archaic forms of life. Primitive mammals. The okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe. | ||
Synonyms | archaic | ||
Similar | early | ||
Antonyms | later, late | ||
3. | primitive used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies | ||
Samples | Primitive societies. | ||
Similar | noncivilised, noncivilized | ||
Domain category | anthropology | ||
Antonyms | civilised, civilized | ||
4. | primitive of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style | ||
Samples | Primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking. | ||
Synonyms | naive | ||
Similar | untrained | ||
Domain category | beaux arts, fine arts | ||
Antonyms | trained | ||
English noun: primitive | |||
1. | primitive (person) a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization | ||
Synonyms | primitive 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 | ||