Primarily
Primarily adverb - Of primary import.
Usage example: this is primarily a question of economics
Nearby Word: primary
Secondarily
Secondarily adverb - Of secondary import.
Usage example: secondarily affected
Primarily is an antonym for secondarily.
Both words in one sentence
- Avalon: Ceilidh and Joe are the Official Couple, but Joe is primarily interested in Helène, the girlfriend of Alan (who would much rather be with Ceilidh), and secondarily interested in Phoebe, who, if she likes anyone, likes Ceilidh; Ryan and Iain are also interested in Phoebe.
Source: Love Dodecahedron / Web Comics -
However, this is averted by the Tau, who try fight with a mind for minimizing casualties (primarily their own and secondarily those against whom they are fighting) and thus are more likely to fall back and regroup or parlay with a kill-team that can hold its fury a moment.
Source: Tabletop Game / Deathwatch -
It also provides a number of reasons for the player not to shoot, primarily that doing so causes a timer to count down to the arrival of a police sniper (who can shoot you dead instantly), but secondarily due to a hard limit on the number of bullets you have access to in the game (six, naturally).
Source: Video Game / Gunpoint
Cite this Source
Secondarily and Primarily. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/primarily/secondarily
Primarily & Secondarily. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/primarily/secondarily>.
Secondarily or Primarily. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/primarily/secondarily.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "primarily" and "secondarily" have occurred on timeline