Dictionary definition · primitive
noun
- a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization
- a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
- a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms"‘pick’ is the primitive from which ‘picket’ is derived"
adjective
- belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness"the crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man"
- little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type"archaic forms of life"
- used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies"primitive societies"
- of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style"primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking"
Similar words
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).