preindustrial
adjective
pre·in·dus·tri·al
ˌprē-in-ˈdə-strē-əl 
variants
or pre-industrial
1
: not having developed or adopted industry : not industrialized
preindustrial agrarian societies
preindustrial civilization
2
: occurring, existing, or originating before the development or adoption of industry
in preindustrial times
preindustrial levels of carbon dioxide
preindustrial artifacts
still made using preindustrial methods
also
: resembling that of preindustrial times
a return to a preindustrial way of life
Examples of preindustrial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is a very good chance that average warming over the next five years will be more than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.5 degrees Celsius, above preindustrial levels, the cap established by the Paris Agreement to ward off the worst consequences of climate change.
—
Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
But the overwhelming majority of the current temperature rise from preindustrial times has been caused by the excess heat trapped by ever rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2025
Average global temperatures last year were the hottest on record and 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, a threshold that nations had been working to avoid.
—David Gelles, New York Times, 19 May 2025
The new report estimates that long-term warming has reached 1.25 to 1.41 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, although the margins of error for some estimates extend beyond 1.5 degrees.
—Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2025
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Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
But the overwhelming majority of the current temperature rise from preindustrial times has been caused by the excess heat trapped by ever rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2025
Average global temperatures last year were the hottest on record and 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, a threshold that nations had been working to avoid.
—David Gelles, New York Times, 19 May 2025
The new report estimates that long-term warming has reached 1.25 to 1.41 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, although the margins of error for some estimates extend beyond 1.5 degrees.
—Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preindustrial
Cite this Entry
“Preindustrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preindustrial. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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