Thesaurus results for PRIMAL

primal

adjective

ˈprī-məl

Definition of primal

as in main

coming before all others in importance the primal theme of the essay is toleration of religious diversity

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ancient

relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period there was a period of primal idealism after the founding of the republic and before the rise of partisan politics

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 primal Inning over, Skubal flexed and let out one of his patented primal roars. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 July 2026 The gruesome tragedy transforms every scene that follows, and as Irene’s trauma mutates into something primal, what begins as a portrait of impossible loss reveals itself as a visceral examination of survival itself. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 July 2026 Or did a Greek soldier really kill a disguised Athena, breaking Zeus’s law in its most primal form? — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 July 2026 Warm shades like yellow, orange, and gold channel the sign’s solar energy, while cheetah print hints at this sign’s primal energy. — Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 17 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for primal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for primal

Adjective

In the Brazilian city of Cuiabá, the mayor, Abílio Brunini, prohibited one such championship from taking place in the city’s main public space.

— Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Next, workers will install new cables, bolted into the five main branches, to stabilize the tree before removing the old supports.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of main

Adjective

Like yoga or dance, the experience is a workout that feels in alignment with the body’s natural movements, at an intensity appropriate to wielding an ancient weapon.

— Rebecca Leib, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Villa Celimontana dates to the 16th century, when it was developed as a noble residence on Caelian Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancient

Adjective

The primary comes as Trump attempts to brush off a string of primary losses, with his 10th endorsed candidate losing in last week’s elections.

— Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026
The primary hurdle moving forward is integrating efficient extraction technologies into existing treatment infrastructure to yield materials that meet industrial standards.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of primary

Adjective

The Düsseldorf group’s version of LUCA would have possessed many of the ingredients needed by living systems, including a primitive form of genetic encoding, as well as metabolic chemical reactions required to harness energy.

— Philip Ball, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
If Russia behaved badly, that was the fault of its primitive and cruel Asian side, a notion that conveniently created the fiction that Western countries are not capable of similar cruelty.

— Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of primitive

Adjective

As long as the predominant globe-spanning Navy kept the seas free for everyone, there was no reason to be affiliated with any state.

— Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
The Odyssey is a story set in the Bronze Age, written in the Iron Age, measured by which metal was the predominant metal that went into weapons of war and other kinds of tools.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026

Definition of predominant

Adjective

The work required felling primeval trees measuring six feet in diameter and digging a deep trench through the marsh to accommodate boat traffic.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Yeti takes place deep in the Alps, where an avalanche has unleashed something primeval from the glacial ice.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026

Definition of primeval

Adjective

The Yankees then went on to become baseball’s most dominant franchise - winning 27 World Series titles - while the Red Sox would not taste success for the rest of the 20th century.

— Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
There may even be scenario B, C or D which today appears negligible and which becomes dominant because something happens that our initial model could not anticipate.

— Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of dominant

Adjective

Dark stars are hypothetical primordial stars that, rather than producing energy through nuclear fusion, are instead powered by self-annihilating dark matter within their cores.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Their results recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters signal a major breakthrough in quantum physics—one that indicates a primordial quark-gluon plasma soup is actually possible with lighter ingredients.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of primordial

Browse Nearby Words

prima facie

primal

primarily

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“Primal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primal. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of primal

adjective

Example Sentences

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