most fundamental

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 grass-roots 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

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.

See Examples For:

most fundamental

Perhaps the most fundamental authority of Congress is its “power of the purse”—the exclusive power conveyed by Article 1 of the Constitution to both impose taxes and control the expenditure of federal money.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

"This new understanding reshapes how we think about the structure of matter and deepens our knowledge of the most fundamental element that is responsible for the universe in its current form."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

However, where Rizzo finds the most fundamental difference is in the fundamentals themselves.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The most fundamental principle for them is that the term food waste is wrong.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

And that is perhaps the first and most fundamental thing that all novice oarsmen must learn about competitive rowing in the upper echelons of the sport: that pain is part and parcel of the deal.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown