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
Our own moon shows evidence of primeval tidal heating, too.
—
Robin George Andrews, Quanta Magazine, 25 Apr. 2025
Los Angeles, like the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Santa Monica Mountains, will never return to its primeval state.
—Edward Ring, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2025
Six secluded individual bungalows sit behind a network of thriving greenery meant to evoke Miyakojima’s inland primeval forests.
—Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2025
The campground setting has a primeval feel, situated in dense old growth forest along the scenic Smith River, where banana slugs frolic (okay, maybe move slowly and strangely).
—Jenna Blough, Outside Online, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primeval
Robin George Andrews, Quanta Magazine, 25 Apr. 2025
Los Angeles, like the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Santa Monica Mountains, will never return to its primeval state.
—Edward Ring, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2025
Six secluded individual bungalows sit behind a network of thriving greenery meant to evoke Miyakojima’s inland primeval forests.
—Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2025
The campground setting has a primeval feel, situated in dense old growth forest along the scenic Smith River, where banana slugs frolic (okay, maybe move slowly and strangely).
—Jenna Blough, Outside Online, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primeval
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primeval
Adjective
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In the early to mid–first millennium BCE, ancient horse-riding peoples known as the Siberian Scythians lived in the Altai-Sayan Mountains—a region that spans parts of modern-day Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China.—
Margherita Bassi,
Popular Science,
24 July 2025
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To Win Or Not To Win Is Not The Only Question Once AI was a philosophical question – one that religious and spiritual thinkers from ancient cultures asked to better understand the laws of nature.—
Pia Lauritzen,
Forbes.com,
24 July 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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Nausicaä herself is practically the primal Ghibli protagonist, a young woman whose kindness, curiosity, and joie de vivre bring light to her valley — one of the last refuges of humanity in a postapocalyptic future.—
Devan Coggan,
EW.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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This primal continuity is ultimately found in death, Bataille claims, a driving force of religion.—
Terry Nguyen
July 23,
Literary Hub,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Both types of stone are fossilized prehistoric corals that are about 350 million years old, according to Visit Charlevoix.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
27 July 2025
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The findings back up a hypothesis that had been put forward by Beasley’s coauthor John Speth, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan, who has for nearly a decade argued that putrid meat and fish would have formed a key part of prehistoric diets.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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Tour the Lord of the Rings film sets in New Zealand New Zealand’s dramatic natural landscapes tell their own history, dating back to primordial times when volcanic activity sculpted a setting that looks like nowhere else on Earth.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
25 July 2025
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Uneasy strings soundtrack a creature’s tentative first steps out of the primordial sea, and intense, dissonant horns blare as a T. rex engages in an epic battle with a powerful planet eater.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Merriweather was out on bond when police said he was involved in the early morning brawl on July 26 in downtown Cincinnati.—
Enquirer staff,
The Enquirer,
31 July 2025
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But Ford leaders said early indicators point to long-term success.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
Freep.com,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primeval. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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