Definition of primative
1. primitive [ a ] belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness
Examples:
"the crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man"
"primitive movies of the 1890s"
"primitive living conditions"
(Jaroslav Pelikan, The Shape of Death: life, death and...)
Because he interprets the primitive state of man as one of mere potentiality or capacity and believes that Adam and Eve were created as children , Irenaeus often seems inclined to extenuate their disobedience as being `` due , no_doubt , to carelessness , but still wicked '' .
(Frank Getlein and Harold C. Gardiner, S.J., Movies,...)
Movement itself was the chief and often the only attraction of the primitive movies of the nineties .
(Joyce O. Hertzler, American Social Institutions;...)
These groups have varied widely from mere families , primitive , totemic groups , and small modern cults and sects , to the memberships of great denominations , and great , widely dispersed world religions .
Synonyms primitive rude crude Related Terms early2. primitive [ a ] being or resembling a force of nature
Examples:
"elemental violence"
(Frank Oppenheimer, "Science and Fear-- A Discussion...)
Will advances in human sciences help us build social_structures and governments which will enable us to cope_with people as_effectively_as the primitive combination of protein and nucleic_acid built a structure of molecules which enabled it to adapt to a sea of molecular interaction ?
Synonyms primitive elemental Related Terms natural3. primitive [ a ] little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
Examples:
"archaic forms of life"
"primitive mammals"
"the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"
(B. J. D. Meeuse, The Story of Pollination....)
On the basis of its life_history , we like to think that Andrena is more primitive than the bumblebees .
(E. Gellhorn, "Prolegomena to a theory of the emotions"...)
But even in relatively primitive laboratory animals such_as the rat , sex_activity closely identified with the hypothalamus and the visceral_brain is enhanced by the neocortex .
Synonyms primitive archaic Related Terms early4. primitive [ a ] not derived from or reducible to something else; basic
Examples:
"a primary instinct"
(John F. Hayward, "Mimesis and Symbol in the Arts"...)
The most primitive feelings are rudimentary value feelings , both positive and negative : a desire to appropriate this or that part of the environment into oneself ; a desire to avoid and repel this or that other part .
It takes a great_deal of abstraction to free oneself from the primitive impression of larger unities of power and influence and to view one 's world simply as a collection of sense_data arranged in such_and_such sequence and pattern , devoid_of all power to move the feelings and actions except in_so_far as they present themselves for inspection .
Synonyms primary primitive Related Terms underived5. primitive [ a ] (anthropology; of societies) preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial
Examples:
"primitive societies"
(Leon Uris, Mila 8....)
Burly leathered men and wrinkled women in drab black rags carried_on in a primitive way , almost unchanged from feudal times .
Synonyms primitive Related Terms anthropology noncivilized6. primitive [ a ] (linguistics) serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms
Examples:
"`pick'
is the primitive word from which `picket'
is derived"
(Joyce O. Hertzler, American Social Institutions;...)
Among primitive peoples the sanctions and dictates of religion were more binding than any of the other controls exercised by the group ; and in modern societies such influence is still great .
Synonyms primitive Related Terms derivative uninflected7. primitive [ a ] (fine arts) of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style
Examples:
"primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking"
8. primitive [ n ] a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms
Examples:
"`pick'
is the primitive from which `picket'
is derived"
9. primitive [ a ] (mathematics) being an algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived
Synonyms primitive Related Terms underived10. primitive [ n ] a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
Synonyms primitive Related Terms formula11. primitive [ n ] a person who belongs to early stage of civilization
Synonyms primitive_person primitive Related Terms person savage caveman wild_man aborigine missing_link Piltdown_man Mound_Builder Basket_Maker homo_erectus Heidelberg_man AryanSimilar Spelling
promotiveprimitive
primate
primitively
Primates
prime_time
pronate
promote
primateship
promoter
premature
promethium
Prometheus
primitivism
primatology
Prenatt
prematurely
