PRIMEVAL Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

primeval

adjective

prī-ˈmē-vəl

Definition of primeval

as in ancient

relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period primeval forests slowly disappearing as the climate changed

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of primeval The fragrance that wafts from the dish when the lid is lifted heightens the anticipation, the nose being the first point of entry and the most primeval of our senses. — Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026 The landscape of Rapa Nui probably never incorporated the sort of primeval forest of palm trees imagined in popular accounts, Pitts writes, but was more mixed, and scrubbier, with no one species of charismatic megaflora dominating. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026 Astrophysicists now believe that this nebulous stuff is a stellar incubator; the primeval chaos from which star formation is presently underway. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 Jan. 2026 Instead, the franchise has been retooled for this brutal and bleak moment, further weaponizing desperation at a time when competition already feels omnipresent and almost primeval. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for primeval

Recent Examples of Synonyms for primeval

Adjective

Adding fuel to the debate is the discovery of ancient artifacts — texts, frescoes, tombstone inscriptions — that seem, to some, to depict women as priests in the early Catholic Church.

— Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
The two genetic variants are also ancient, suggesting that the difference has persisted over evolutionary timescales.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of ancient

Adjective

These primitive instincts are highly attuned to potential danger and are often triggered before our conscious mind registers that something isn’t right.

— Georgia Casey, Allure, 9 Oct. 2026
When our skin senses heat, those signals travel to a primitive part of the brain that tells our body to cool down.

— Will Stone, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of primitive

Adjective

None of this takes into account our more primal drives and desires, which often sit at odds with the predictability and frictionlessness of technology.

— Amy Francombe, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
Later on, in the fourth quarter, after an errant pass was batted upward and, eventually, into the hands of an offensive lineman, Kelce, ever the ambassador for his undersung position, was full of primal delight.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of primal

Adjective

That absence presented a problem for scientists trying to understand how the animals spread around the prehistoric world.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
That said, prior archaeological digs have revealed similar prehistoric wooden weapons dating as far back as 400,000 years.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of prehistoric

Adjective

For the dodo, the researchers will first harvest primordial germ cells (PGCs)—nascent cells that give rise to eggs and sperm—from the nicobar pigeon, the dodo’s closest living relative.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
This would have been a primordial black hole (PBH), a hypothesized object formed in the universe’s earliest moments.

— Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of primordial

Adjective

In this golden age of cringe, that earlier art of transgression—with its tense silences, humiliations, and hostile disturbance of the performer-audience relationship—was channeled downstream.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
That earlier aircraft established a historical precedent for using the Hercules platform in this specialized role.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of early

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primes

primeval

priming

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“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primeval. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of primeval

adjective

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