PRIMARY Synonyms: 155 Similar and Opposite Words

primary

adjective

ˈprī-ˌmer-ē

Definition of primary

as in main

coming before all others in importance the primary concern for many house hunters is the asking price

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in direct

done or working without something else coming in between a crop failure that was the primary cause of the famine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in chief

highest in rank or authority the movie's primary screenwriter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in preliminary

coming before the main part or item usually to introduce or prepare for what follows a few minutes of primary instruction in the use of our diving gear before we actually got into the water

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of primary Still, competition remains strong, and this is mirrored in the secondary as well as primary market. — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026 While Versant has articulated a plan to broaden its revenue beyond traditional TV, that platform at present delivers the bulk of its financial fuel, which makes distribution alliances a primary financial benchmark for the company. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026 Understanding your primary motivation can help determine whether a quick repair or a deeper renovation makes the most practical sense. — Alex Vasquez, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026 The primary suite has its own fireplace, sitting room, dressing room, and terrace. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for primary

Recent Examples of Synonyms for primary

Adjective

Homegrown chip design firm SkyeChip also enjoyed a blockbuster IPO on the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange in May, surging 300% on its main market debut.

— Angelica Ang, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
AbdulSalam Mohammed, president of the Abaad Studies & Research Center and an adviser to Yemen’s Information Ministry, told the Washington Examiner that government forces are currently focused on defending against the Houthis along three main axes.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of main

Adjective

Follert credits the monthly check-ins and the direct impact employees can have in shaping the company culture for its ranking in the top 10.

— Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
And over the years, Jaguar’s boffins have actually learned a lot about how to design, build, and operate electric powertrains that are both powerful and efficient, and that work has direct benefits to road-going EVs.

— Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of direct

Adjective

Misheck Mutize, AfCRA’s chief architect, acknowledged that the agency’s main role would be to steer Africa’s $4 trillion savings into African assets rather than changing how foreign investors see the continent.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Andrew Garfield stars as Altman, with Anora‘s Yura Borisov playing Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientific officer and co-founder of OpenAI who fires Altman.

— Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of chief

Adjective

Heading into this week, investors will be watching for minutes from the Fed's September meeting on Wednesday and the University of Michigan's preliminary October consumer sentiment reading, due Friday.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
The decision on whether to enable Northwestern’s plans came down to Evanston’s City Council, which in October 2023 tied at a preliminary vote.

— Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of preliminary

Adjective

The predominant suites—all of which have generous outdoor space—are spread across four buildings whose Indonesian names translate to mountain, hill, plateau and valley.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
Through the year 2027, architecture convergence will remain predominant, meaning centralized computing, zonal designs, maturing OTA functionality, shareable and reusable software platforms and stronger hardware/software modularity.

— Rajjie Sarmey, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of predominant

Adjective

All game long Wednesday, the Washington Mystics were trying to claw back against the Atlanta Dream after falling into an immediate hole.

— Jake Kauderer, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026
The immediate test is converting orders into shipments, revenue, and cash flow.

— Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of immediate

Adjective

Considered the foremost institution for Asian art in the United States, this additional space will give the museum more room to display roughly 4,000 historic and contemporary works from its more than 21,000-piece collection of Asian artists.

— Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Seeing the internet’s foremost disciple of glow meet the internet’s foremost purveyor of good lighting, though, feels quite satisfying—who else needs another excuse to update that Sephora cart?

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of foremost

Adjective

Chinese, Russian troops train together The PLA contingent traveled to Russia by road, rail and air and participated in the preparatory phase alongside forces from Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
Account managers have seen their preparatory work shrink—AI can assemble meeting notes, summarize calls, draft follow-ups and flag patterns across client communication.

— Victor Karpenko, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026