Synonyms and Antonyms of primary
1
coming before all others in importance
- the primary concern for many house hunters is the asking price
arch, big, capital, cardinal, central, chief, dominant, first, foremost, grand, great, greatest, highest, key, leading, main, master, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, paramount, predominant, preeminent, premier, primal, principal, prior, sovereign (also sovran), supreme
distinguished, eminent, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, outstanding, prestigious, signal, star, stellar, superior
high-level, senior, top
important, influential, major, mighty, momentous, significant
incomparable, matchless, unequaled (or unequalled), unparalleled, unsurpassed
celebrated, famed, famous, renowned
inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, minor, negligible, slight, trifling, trivial, unimportant
collateral, inferior, secondary, subordinate, subsidiary
2
done or working without something else coming in between
- a crop failure that was the primary cause of the famine
3
highest in rank or authority
- the movie's primary screenwriter
chief, commanding, first, foremost, head, high, lead, leading, preeminent, premier, presiding, prime, principal, supereminent, supreme, top
high-level, senior
controlling, directing, managing, officiating, overseeing, regnant, reigning, ruling, supervisory
main, major, paramount, predominant, predominate, sovereign (also sovran)
ascendant (also ascendent), dominant, grand, superior, topmost, upmost, upper, uppermost
ancillary, inferior, last, less, lesser, lower, lowly, second, secondary, subordinate, subsidiary
assistant, assisting, coadjutor, deputy, junior, under
4
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
