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prehistoric + [noun]
prehistoric 常用来描述有文字记载之前的时期。
The cave contains prehistoric paintings of animals.
这个洞穴里有史前动物壁画。
史前的；有史以前的
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
史前的；有史以前的
belonging to or existing in times before recorded history
The cave contains prehistoric paintings of animals.
这个洞穴里有史前动物壁画。
属于或关于有文字记录之前的时代。
Of or relating to the epoch before written record.
古老的；非常旧的；过时的。
Ancient; very old, outdated, etc.
The museum has a large collection of prehistoric tools made of stone.
这家博物馆收藏了大量用石头制作的史前工具。
Scientists discovered prehistoric animal bones in the cave last year.
去年科学家在山洞里发现了史前动物的骨骼。
This drawing shows what prehistoric people might have looked like.
这幅画展示了史前人类可能的样子。
prehistoric 常用来描述有文字记载之前的时期。
The cave contains prehistoric paintings of animals.
这个洞穴里有史前动物壁画。
prehistoric 可引申为“过时的”，常用于口语。
That computer is prehistoric; it can't run any modern software.
那台电脑已经老掉牙了，没法运行任何现代软件。
figurative 用法表示极其陈旧。
He still uses a prehistoric flip phone.
他还在用一部老古董翻盖手机。
Not this
This is a prehistoric.
Use this
This is a prehistoric animal.
prehistoric 是形容词，不能单独作名词。需要加上相应的名词，如 animal、plant 或 time。
Not this
These are prehistory animals.
Use this
These are prehistoric animals.
prehistory 是名词，意为“史前时期”，不能修饰名词。应使用形容词 prehistoric 来修饰名词 animals。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
史前时期
Dinosaurs roamed the Earth during prehistoric times.
恐龙在史前时期漫游地球。
史前动物
The museum has a large collection of prehistoric animal fossils.
博物馆收藏了大量史前动物化石。
史前人
Prehistoric man used stone tools for hunting.
史前人使用石器进行狩猎。
史前艺术
The cave paintings are famous examples of prehistoric art.
这些洞穴壁画是史前艺术的著名例子。
史前遗迹
Archaeologists discovered prehistoric remains in the valley.
考古学家在山谷中发现了史前遗迹。
Use prehistoric naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
pre- 像“前”，historic 是“历史的”，历史之前就是史前，比如恐龙时代。
语域：formal 常见场景：archaeology、paleontology 表示“史前的”时，该词通常用于正式或学术语境，如考古学、古生物学等。
Genuine rhymes: historic, metaphoric, allegoric. Note: 'hysteric' (hɪˈstɛrɪk) looks similar but has a different vowel sound.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.