crucial en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
1706, from French crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from Latin crux, crucis (“cross”) (English crux), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). The meaning “decisive, critical” is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon in his influential Novum Organum (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking roads, thus a requirement to choose.
Meanings
-
Essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important; vital.
Vocabulary provides a foundation from which grammar, phonology, and morphology emerge, and in a subject area it provides access to conceptual knowledge. Vocabulary selection for pedagogical purposes is therefore crucial.
2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Advancing disciplinary literacy through English for academic purposes: Discipline-specific wordlists, collocations and word families for eight secondary subjects”, in Journal of English for Academic Purposes, volume 35, →DOI, page 106:The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.
2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland.
Language is crucial because it is the best weapon against violence. When children don’t have the words to express their thoughts, they raise their fists.
2021 October 1, A Falun Dafa practitioner in France, “Using Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to Guide My Young Students”, in Minghui:A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower.
- (archaic) Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.
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(Jamaica, especially, qualifier:Bermuda, slang) Very good; excellent; particularly applied to reggae music.
Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more crucial | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most crucial | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
crucially · cruciality · crucial experiment · noncrucial · crucialness
Descendants
Relateds
Synonyms
paramount · central · key · big · high on the totem pole · critical · fateful · observable · vital · outstanding · necessary · weighty · extraordinary · meaningful · noncruciform · noticeable · fatesome · remarkable · crucial · significant · essential · unignorable · innegligible · fatefraught · pivotal · salient · relevant · life-or-death · noted · pertinent · heavy · valuable · consequential · epochful · historic
Translations (53)
mi waiwai (extremely important) · ru ключево́й (extremely important) · ru реша́ющий (extremely important) · he חיוני (extremely important) · da afgørende (extremely important) · kw troboyntel (extremely important) · sv avgörande (extremely important) · gd deatamach (extremely important) · it cruciale (extremely important) · nb avgjørende (extremely important) · sq kryq (cross-shaped) · fr crucial (cross-shaped) · bg решителен (extremely important) · hu sarkalatos (extremely important) · cs kritický (extremely important) · de kreuzförmig (cross-shaped) · pt crucial (cross-shaped) · de wichtig (extremely important) · cmn 叉狀的 /叉状的 (cross-shaped) · hi निर्णायक (extremely important) · cmn 關鍵的 /关键的 (extremely important) · cmn 至關重要的 /至关重要的 (extremely important) · cmn 十字形的 (cross-shaped) · de kritisch (extremely important) · uk виріша́льний (extremely important) · ca crucial (extremely important) · es crucial (extremely important) · de entscheidend (extremely important) · cs rozhodující (extremely important) · ro crucial (extremely important) · he מכריע (extremely important) · cmn 決定性的 /决定性的 (extremely important) · bg кръстовиден (cross-shaped) · pl krzyżowy (cross-shaped) · pt crucial (extremely important) · de bedeutend (extremely important) · ar حَاسِم (extremely important) · it cruciforme (cross-shaped) · cy allweddol (extremely important) · fa حیاتی (cross-shaped) · ro cruciform (cross-shaped) · fi elintärkeä (extremely important) · el κρίσιμος (extremely important) · ru крестообра́зный (cross-shaped) · bg критичен (extremely important) · sq kryesore (extremely important) · fr crucial (extremely important) · de ausschlaggebend (extremely important) · pl krytyczny (extremely important) · fi ristinmuotoinen (cross-shaped) · uk крити́чний (extremely important) · fi ratkaiseva (extremely important) · ro decisiv (extremely important)