English dictionary
primitive
/'pr/i/m/I/t/I/v/
Definitions, examples, synonyms and antonyms from WordNet 3.0.
adjective
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Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, <i>primitive</i> innocence; the <i>primitive</i> church.
Source: webster1913
noun
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a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization
Synonyms primitive personSource: WordNet 3.0
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a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
Source: WordNet 3.0
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a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms
Examples`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived.
Source: WordNet 3.0
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An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to <i>derivative</i>.
Source: webster1913
adjective satellite
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belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness
ExamplesPrimitive movies of the 1890s.
Primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains.
Source: WordNet 3.0
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little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
ExamplesPrimitive mammals.
The okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe.
Synonyms archaicSource: WordNet 3.0
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used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies
ExamplesPrimitive societies.
Source: WordNet 3.0
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of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style
ExamplesPrimitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking.
Synonyms naiveSource: WordNet 3.0