rudimentary

Often ru·di·men·tal

[roo-duh-men-tuh-ree, -tree]

adjective

1. pertaining to rudiments or first principles; elementary.

   a rudimentary knowledge of geometry.

   Synonyms: initial, fundamental
   Antonyms: advanced

2. Biology.,  of the nature of a rudiment; undeveloped or vestigial.

   Synonyms: embryonic
   Antonyms: mature

3. in an early, imperfect stage or form.

   How can we improve upon this admittedly rudimentary theory?

rudimentary

/ ˌruːdɪˈmɛntərɪ /

adjective

1. basic; fundamental; not elaborated or perfected

2. incompletely developed; vestigial

   rudimentary leaves

Other Word Forms

• rudimentarily adverb
• rudimentariness noun
• nonrudimental adjective
• nonrudimentarily adverb
• nonrudimentarilyness noun
• nonrudimentary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rudimentary¹

First recorded in 1600–20; rudiment + -ary

Synonym Study

See elementary.

Example Sentences

It revolved around rudimentary weightlifting; first and foremost, sets of back squats the day after he took the mound.

From Los Angeles Times

It coincided with the introduction of a rudimentary version of the save, created by longtime Sporting News and Chicago baseball writer Jerome Holtzman.

From Los Angeles Times

"Considering the rudimentary state of travel back then, people from the Indus Valley would not have been able to migrate to the south in such large numbers to set up civilisation," he says.

From BBC

But “Oh, Hi!” is far more intelligent than a rudimentary attempt at genre-bending for a new generation.

From Salon

Instead, these men are trapped in their own heads, their tender, confessional musings about God, war and manhood so rudimentary that they never aspire to the heights of folksy poetry.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• elemental 
• elementary 
• embryonic 
• primitive 
• simple