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
So the cosmic dark ages aren’t entirely dark; those clouds of primordial neutral hydrogen are emitting tremendous amounts of 21-cm radiation.
—
ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2025
George Harrison may be thought of as a holy man, but the primordial ooze his career emerges from is made of cars.
—Kaleb Horton, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2025
This project aims to provide vital insights into how stars, gas and black holes evolved within primordial galaxies when the 13.8 billion-year-old universe was very young.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 Mar. 2025
The company’s project involved recovering DNA of the extinct dire wolf from a fossil tooth found in Idaho and an ear bone in Ohio, parts of the animal’s primordial habitat, but the key was its editing of a donor genome of the gray wolf to alter 14 of its genes.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primordial
ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2025
George Harrison may be thought of as a holy man, but the primordial ooze his career emerges from is made of cars.
—Kaleb Horton, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2025
This project aims to provide vital insights into how stars, gas and black holes evolved within primordial galaxies when the 13.8 billion-year-old universe was very young.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 Mar. 2025
The company’s project involved recovering DNA of the extinct dire wolf from a fossil tooth found in Idaho and an ear bone in Ohio, parts of the animal’s primordial habitat, but the key was its editing of a donor genome of the gray wolf to alter 14 of its genes.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primordial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primordial
Adjective
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Scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
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It’s all designed to try to persuade visitors that the biblical story was literally true — that an ancient Noah really could have built such a sophisticated ship.—
Peter Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 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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Grinderman formed in 2005 as a more raw and primal outlet for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds—a sound more akin to Cave’s early post-punk project the Birthday Party.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
21 May 2025
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This great, deep, profound, primal passion for performing and for sharing that experience with the artists on stage, the cast and the band, and sharing that with the audience, is one of my favorite things in in my whole life.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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The limp is the primeval sign, in many cultural myth systems, of autochthony: humans born from the earth, parentless.—
Nicholas Dames,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
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But in this primeval stage, nearly all of the potential Democratic candidates are discussing problems that have bedeviled their party for years: how to win back working-class voters, how aggressively to oppose President Trump and how to reach voters beyond the traditional news media.—
Lisa Lerer,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
Adjective
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The obvious difference is the lack of a coastal element, as Sand Valley’s courses are spread across 12,000 acres of prehistoric sand dunes.—
Erik Matuszewski,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
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Beneath the surface of Warm Mineral Springs, divers have discovered prehistoric remains dating back 10,000 years.—
Sean Kingsley,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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General admission tickets are $130 and VIP tickets, which allow early access to the venue at 4 p.m., are $155.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2025
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Not bad for a town that emerged originally as the terminus of industrial traffic along the Erie Canal in the early 1800s.—
David Allan,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primordial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primordial. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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