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.

But Brunson had one crucial thing that those prodigious athletes did not.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Oil prices remain elevated while the crucial Strait of Hormuz—which normally carries 20% of the world’s daily oil traffic—is largely closed.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

A year later, Congress passed a law that added a firearms trafficking conspiracy charge to the federal criminal code, a crucial new tool for prosecutors.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

Pike - who also asked the audience not to film her speech - addressed a certain broad section of the stalls which had distracted her during a crucial scene.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

Looking back in 1662, Boyle hailed the experiment at the Puy-de-Dôme as the experimentum crucis, the crucial experiment, which had validated a new physics.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Vocabulary lists containing crucial

List 1

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