as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
all life on Earth supposedly came from a primordial ooze in existence many millions of years ago
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Recent Examples of primordial
This residual internal energy can warm the base of the atmosphere as the planet cools, lifting up the primordial envelope from below and helping gas to escape, along with the pull from stellar radiation.
—
Dakotah Tyler, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2025
O'Connor used Swift’s measure of hydrogen, the primordial gas that is the building material for everything in the universe, to determine that the explosion came from outside the Milky Way.
—Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 10 Feb. 2025
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
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
See All Example Sentences for primordial
Dakotah Tyler, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2025
O'Connor used Swift’s measure of hydrogen, the primordial gas that is the building material for everything in the universe, to determine that the explosion came from outside the Milky Way.
—Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 10 Feb. 2025
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
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
See All Example Sentences for primordial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primordial
Adjective
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From summiting Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji to trekking through Madeira’s mystical, ancient Fanal Forest, my love for hiking has taken me across the globe.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Mar. 2025
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Thus, the team concluded that the late Devonian and late Ordovician extinction events, which respectively took place some 372 and 445 million years ago, were likely caused by such ancient supernovae.—
Bruce Dorminey,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 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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The truth is, sure—the odd primal scream or rage run probably isn’t gonna hurt ya.—
Carolyn L. Todd,
SELF,
21 Mar. 2025
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Gaga ended the song with a primal scream, her eyes wide and unblinking.—
Rachel Syme,
The New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The work recalls a kind of primeval decadence, in the best sense of that word.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
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These places maintain the largest amount of intact primeval forest and the highest populations of bears, wolves and lynx in all of Europe.—
Jamie Lang,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Permafrost—stable for millennia—is now thawing at an accelerating pace, breaking open microbial vaults from a prehistoric world.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
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The arrowhead, found in a pit alongside other prehistoric features, was meticulously carved from flint using a technique called knapping.—
Stories by Real-Time news team, with AI summarization,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Combined with their latest findings, researchers are better understanding the progression from a baby’s earlier statistical learning formations to the development of episodic memories.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
21 Mar. 2025
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Nestled in the forest foothills outside Rapid City, this Lutheran chapel is an exact replica of Norway’s historic Borgund Stave Church, built around 1150 AD during the early years of Christianity in the Viking world.—
Joe Yogerst,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primordial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primordial. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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