1
as in main
coming before all others in importance
the primal theme of the essay is toleration of religious diversity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ancient
relating to or occurring near the beginning of a process, series, or time period
there was a period of primal idealism after the founding of the republic and before the rise of partisan politics
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of primal
Munden injected tension and something even more primal and powerful than tension by punctuating Ralph’s efforts to navigate the island with stills of trees.
—
Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
The hectic, electrified, primal scream of a genre can be traced to the 1960s, but really came alive in the ‘70s.
—Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
But there’s something primal about a fastball.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
This is a movie that effortlessly marries primal poetry to the quotidian.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for primal
Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
The hectic, electrified, primal scream of a genre can be traced to the 1960s, but really came alive in the ‘70s.
—Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
But there’s something primal about a fastball.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
This is a movie that effortlessly marries primal poetry to the quotidian.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for primal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primal
Adjective
-
Kevin Cook, the venue’s main host and inarguably the reigning queen of drag in Portland.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
-
Pashinyan’s main rival is the Strong Armenia Party, which wants closer business ties with Russia and accuses Pashinyan of attempting to spark a war with Moscow.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Grounding might include a Ku Nye full-body massage inspired by ancient Tibetan healing traditions that stimulates the meridian system, acupressure, kneading, deep-tissue techniques and a Tibetan head massage.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
-
Naadam is described as an ancient cultural spectacle and one of the few opportunities outsiders get to experience Mongolian culture up close.—
Hanna Wickes,
Sacbee.com,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Campsites The park has two primitive (no hookups) campsites—one in each of the two main units.—
Julia Sayers Gokhale,
Midwest Living,
1 June 2026
-
Most subsea drones can only trade sparse, primitive status blips.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
California will have to wait before knowing the final outcome of the June 2 gubernatorial primary election as the country’s most populous state continues counting ballots.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
-
Millions of Californians filled out their 2026 primary election ballots over the last several weeks either at home or at the polls, expressing their constitutional right to vote in a free and fair election.—
Austin Turner,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
This 50-square-mile crescent in the Pacific has the southernmost coral reef in the world and a wealth of wilderness walks that include everything from primeval banyan forests to endangered ground-dwelling birds.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Dec. 2025
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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California Time slows to a primeval pace in the sequoia groves that make up Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, where arboreal giants have watched the seasons come and go for more than 2,000 years.—
Sarah L. Stewart,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Eberly College of Science researcher Daniel Paraizo and colleagues suggest there is a way that primordial black holes of just the right mass could survive this process to undergo a startling transformation.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
-
That would seemingly favor a primordial black hole as the source, although that would likely require it to have grown by a factor of 10 in the 700 million years of its existence.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
American resumes flights American Airlines, the predominant carrier at Miami International Airport, resumed its service to Venezuela between Miami and Caracas in late April after a multi-year hiatus.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
28 May 2026
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During the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, Busch was honored on the 18th lap of the race, 18 being the predominant number on his stock car.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
Adjective
-
The intelligence-gathering site became another means by which Israel could collect information on Iranian military movements and facilities, as well as potentially providing early warning of missile launches.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
5 June 2026
-
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum stated that the promenade would connect the back side of the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River and that the promenade was a part of the McMillian Plan, the early 20th century plan that laid out the National Mall.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Primal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primal. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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