primeval

American

[prahy-mee-vuhl] / praɪˈmi vəl /

Or primaeval

adjective

of or relating to the first age or ages, especially of the world.

primeval forms of life.

Synonyms:

pristine, primordial, primary

primeval British

/ praɪˈmiːvəl /

adjective

of or belonging to the first age or ages, esp of the world

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See prime.

Other Word Forms

primevally adverb

Etymology

Origin of primeval

First recorded in 1765–75; from Latin prīmaev(us) “young” ( prīm(us) prime + aev(um) age + -us adjective suffix) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

With a single, in-block cam, one timing chain and two valves per cylinder, Godzilla is so primitive it’s practically primeval.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

For example, how much primeval forest has been cleared for an agricultural product or how the land was previously used.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024

Such modern intermediates might have been the end product for primeval eukaryotes.

From Scientific American • Jun. 13, 2023

One critic, João Ribeiro — a prominent folklorist himself — called it “voluntarily barbarous, primeval, an assortment of disconnected fragments put together by a commentator incapable of any coordination.”

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023

In Choctaw lore, for example, the Creator breathed life into not one but many primeval pairs of human beings scattered all over the earth.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023