EN

Synonyms for aboriginal

  • adjective
  • noun

Most common

indigenous native primeval primordial

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Indigenous — first according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive

indigenous, native, primeval, primordial, primitive, autochthonous, original, ancient, primal, first, prime, endemic, primary, pristine

Noun

aborigine, indigene, indigen

Antonyms

outlandish, immigrant, late

All antonyms of aboriginal →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    First according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive.

  2. n. 1

    An animal or plant native to a region.

Related words

Word family
aboriginally aborigine

Forms

Plural
aboriginals → aborigines, indigenes, indigens…

Choose the right word

Aboriginal, Autochthonic, Primeval, Ancient or Original?

Aboriginal, autochthonic, and primeval combine the meanings of ancient and original; aboriginal inhabitants, autochthonic races, primeval forests.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • native What can I do to sound more like a native speaker?
  • indigenous They need to get rid of the indigenous population.
  • primitive Magic plays an important part in primitive society.
  • primeval Prehistoric man lived in the primeval forest.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
aboriginalsteady
nativesteady
indigenousrising
primitivefalling
primevalsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters
first1, prime1
6 letters
native2, primal2
7 letters
primary3, ancient2, endemic3, indigen
8 letters
original4, pristine2, primeval3, indigene
9 letters
primitive3, aborigine5
10 letters
indigenous4, primordial4
13 letters
autochthonous

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (native2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
aborigène
Español
aborigen
Deutsch
einheimisch