✅ Crucial describes something extremely important (a crucial piece of the puzzle).

✅ Vital describes something indispensable, necessary, or important (He provided a vital piece of information).

✅ Vital comes from the Latin word for "life," suggesting things that are necessary for life, literally or metaphorically (Time at the seashore is vital for my well-being).

✅ Crucial often suggests that something is key to a future direction or outcome (The first two steps in baking bread are the most crucial).

✅ Linger means to remain longer than expected (The smell of pumpkin pie lingered; We lingered in the coffee shop so long that we were almost late).

✅ Tarry means to delay, linger, or loiter (We tarried over the spooky displays).

✅ Linger and tarry both mean to be in a place longer than expected.

✅ Tarry suggests delaying something or causing yourself to be late by being in that place so long. Linger doesn’t necessarily suggest any reason for the delay.

✅ A tantrum is a sudden burst of explosive emotion, often of anger but sometimes sadness (I resisted having a tantrum when we ran out of pumpkin spice).

✅ A conniption is a fit of anger or excitement, generally a hysterical one (He had a conniption over how early I decorated for Halloween).

✅ Tantrum and conniption both suggest an unjustified outburst. They’re also both fairly informal words which suggest an outburst that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

✅ Tantrum generally suggests a childish burst of emotion, while conniption is often used for more mature fits (if they exist).