crucial

[kroo-shuhl] / ˈkru ʃəl /

ADJECTIVE

critical, important

Synonyms

STRONGEST

bottom-line central compelling deciding decisive essential imperative momentous necessary pivotal pressing touchy urgent vital

WEAK

acute clamorous climactic desperate dire hanging by thread high-priority insistent on thin ice searching showdown touch and go

Antonyms

STRONGEST

inessential insignificant minor optional secondary trivial unimportant unnecessary voluntary

WEAK

uncritical

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This highlights how crucial these protective structures are for enduring extreme environments.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

It takes experienced scientists to safely mold volatile fissile material into uranium metal for a warhead and to build in other crucial components.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

"He dominated his one v one situation, which is crucial, and that is why we went 1-0 up."

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Andy Pages went three for three with four RBIs and had a go-ahead two-run double and a two-run home run to provide crucial insurance that kept his club in the game.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

The third, and most crucial, was to conceal any hint that she was a hacker too.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Vocabulary lists containing crucial

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