elemental

[ el-uh-men-tl ]

adjective

1. of the nature of an ultimate constituent; simple; uncompounded.
2. pertaining to rudiments or first principles.
3. starkly simple, primitive, or basic:

   a spare, elemental prose style; hate, lust, and other elemental emotions.

4. pertaining to the agencies, forces, or phenomena of physical nature:

   elemental gods.

5. comparable to the great forces of nature, as in power or magnitude:

   elemental grandeur.

6. of, relating to, or of the nature of the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, or of any one of them.
7. pertaining to chemical elements.

elemental

/ ˌɛlɪˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. fundamental; basic; primal

   the elemental needs of man

2. motivated by or symbolic of primitive and powerful natural forces or passions

   elemental rites of worship

3. of or relating to earth, air, water, and fire considered as elements
4. of or relating to atmospheric forces, esp wind, rain, and cold
5. of, relating to, or denoting a chemical element

noun

1. rare.
   a spirit or force that is said to appear in physical form

Derived Forms

• ˌeleˈmentally, adverb
• ˌeleˈmentalˌism, noun

Other Words From

• ele·mental·ly adverb
• nonel·e·mental adjective
• nonel·e·mental·ly adverb
• postel·e·mental adjective
• preel·e·mental adjective
• subel·e·mental adjective
• subel·e·mental·ly adverb
• transel·e·mental adjective
• unel·e·mental adjective
• unel·e·mental·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of elemental¹

From the Medieval Latin word elementālis, dating back to 1485–95. See element, -al ¹

Example Sentences

I have never had to deal with alkaline soil, but a few farmers have told me the fastest way to correct it is a heavy application of elemental sulfur.

From Popular-Science

So Jupiter’s elemental recipe should resemble the sun’s — at least for elements that were gases.

From Science News For Students

Running fast, jumping high, and throwing objects a long way are elemental human pursuits at the core of many other sports like soccer, football, and basketball.

From Quartz

In the early 2000s, Seattle’s boosters marketed the city with an ad campaign called “Metronatural,” showing a kayak atop a car on a downtown street to sell the idea that the great outdoors was elemental to life there.

From Washington Post

By analyzing the star’s elemental makeup, which is like a star’s genetic instruction book, astronomers peered back into the star’s family history.

From Science News

The word primitive does not do justice to the elemental nature of dining in one of the great barbecue parlors of this region.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, like millions of her generation who remember a land before loss, what she really wants is something more elemental.

From The Daily Beast

"It's all very elemental," is how designer Phillip Lim described his Spring/Summer 2014 collection.

From The Daily Beast

He returned medicine to its most elemental form—a profession that tries to help out someone who is sick.

From The Daily Beast

Yet it does point out how elemental health and health care are—for both citizens and those running for election.

From The Daily Beast

But there was another storm raging in those streets, more terrible than any elemental warfare.

From Project Gutenberg

In such, or fitter words, does Camille evoke the Elemental Powers, in this great moment.

From Project Gutenberg

They deal with the most elemental religious conceptions and are full of the imagery of nature.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind each of those tiny garret windows lurks life—life in its most elemental costume.

From Project Gutenberg

There is a time for all things, even for the elemental talk of frontiersmen on a holiday.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• elementary