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crucial

The word crucial describes something that is important or essential to success, like the crucial dress rehearsals that ensure everything will run smoothly on your play's opening night.

Usage experts insist that the word crucial should be used only to describe something that is truly critical for solving a problem or for resolving a situation, such as a crucial vote that determines a final outcome. In this case the crucial vote is decisive: it determines the outcome. But the word has gained popularity as a way to say that something is important. You might hear someone say, for example, that it is crucial to allow employees to vote on the new schedule to make them feel like they’re part of the process. In this case the sense is “important”: nothing decisive is taking place.

Definitions of crucial
  1. adjective
    of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
    “a crucial moment in his career”
    “a crucial election”
    “a crucial issue for women”
    synonyms: important
    critical
    being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency
    critical, decisive
    forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis
    life-and-death, life-or-death
    vitally important
    pivotal, polar
    being of crucial importance
    decisive
    determining or having the power to determine an outcome
    essential
    basic and fundamental
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    Antonyms:
    noncrucial
    of little importance; not decisive
  2. adjective
    of the greatest importance
    crucial information”
    synonyms: all important, all-important, essential, of the essence
    important, of import
    of great significance or value
  3. adjective
    having crucial relevance
    crucial to the case”
    Synonyms:
    material
    directly relevant to a matter especially a law case
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘crucial'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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