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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of primeval
Goth, primeval décor is in the air, but this is an extreme case.
—
Jocelyn Silver, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024
Guests are encouraged to join excursions, both by boat to see the island’s beaches and coves, and by land to explore that primeval rain forest.
—Ann Abel, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border opens on a wide shot of an endless stretch of trees — the densely forested, almost primeval zone marking the boundary between Belarus and Poland where much of the film will take place.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 June 2024
This enormous park, which sits mostly in Wyoming’s northwestern corner with slices in Idaho and Montana, offers plenty of conventional lodging choices, but there’s no better way to experience this primeval place than by camping.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for primeval 
Jocelyn Silver, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024
Guests are encouraged to join excursions, both by boat to see the island’s beaches and coves, and by land to explore that primeval rain forest.
—Ann Abel, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border opens on a wide shot of an endless stretch of trees — the densely forested, almost primeval zone marking the boundary between Belarus and Poland where much of the film will take place.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 June 2024
This enormous park, which sits mostly in Wyoming’s northwestern corner with slices in Idaho and Montana, offers plenty of conventional lodging choices, but there’s no better way to experience this primeval place than by camping.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for primeval
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primeval
Adjective
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Researchers in London recently uncovered a 2,000-year-old structure that once served as the hub of the bustling ancient city.—
Greta Cross,
USA TODAY,
19 Feb. 2025
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Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the plesiosaur is considered a successful marine predatory ancient species.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
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Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
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But my wife, a native Californian, sensed something more innately — some primal signal in her neurons screaming: Danger.—
Josh Eells,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2025
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To accomplish that, the farmers had to persuade their clients to embrace a new aesthetic: less polished and more primal, twining and frondy, founded on blossoms that might be too lush and soft to endure weeks of refrigerated storage but could be guaranteed to look and smell like nothing else.—
Maryn McKenna,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Everyone's favorite candidate for the identity of the Loch Ness monster, the plesiosaurs were a group of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in oceans throughout the world between 203 and 66 million years ago.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
7 Feb. 2025
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Researchers have been able to examine the soft tissues of other prehistoric marine reptiles.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Scientists theorized that the asteroid contained traces of water and organic molecules and that similar asteroids could have brought these materials to a primordial Earth.—
Doyle Rice,
USA TODAY,
29 Jan. 2025
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Colossal has established a flock of Nicobar pigeons, the dodo’s closest living relative, which will act as donors for primordial germ cells that will be genetically edited to have dodo characteristics.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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There have been enough executive orders to fill a small library and absolutely no indication that Trump will leave office when his four years are up in early 2029, Constitution be damned.—
Tony Maglio,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
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The stone, Queen Anne Victorian building was a police station and jail in the early 1900s.—
Jenny Adams,
AFAR Media,
11 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near primeval
Cite this Entry
“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primeval. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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