fundamental

[fuhn-duh-men-tl] / ˌfʌn dəˈmɛn tl /

ADJECTIVE

basic, important

Synonyms

STRONGEST

central constitutional crucial elemental elementary essential indispensable integral intrinsic major necessary paramount principal radical significant structural theoretical underlying vital

STRONG

bottom cardinal first key organic original primary prime primitive requisite supporting

WEAK

axiological axiomatic basal bottom-line constitutive foundational grassroots meat-and-potatoes primordial rudimentary substratal substrative sustaining underived

Antonyms

STRONGEST

accessory auxiliary extrinsic inessential insignificant learned least lesser minor needless nonessential secondary trivial unimportant unnecessary

WEAK

additional advanced extra subordinate

NOUN

basic, essential part

Synonyms

STRONGEST

bottom line component cornerstone element factor foundation law principle

STRONG

ABCs axiom basis constituent guts heart nitty-gritty rudiment rule theorem

WEAK

brass tacks coal-and-ice principium rock bottom sine qua non

Antonyms

STRONG

cowardice fear

WEAK

addition auxiliary extra subordinate trivia

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.

Ultimately, there is a more fundamental question to answer: Do we even need a robot with arms and legs?

From The Wall Street Journal

The findings suggest a fundamental change in how Alzheimer's could be approached in the future.

From Science Daily

Overall: Strong fundamental profile but not aligned with the current macro regime.

From Barron's

She called recent yen moves speculative and not reflective of economic fundamentals.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Consistently the advice we have received has highlighted fundamental evidential difficulties that cannot be ignored."

From BBC