Synonym for crucial

[ kroo-shuhl ]

/ ˈkru ʃəl /

Crucial means extremely important or involving an extremely important decision or course of action. Close synonyms are critical and decisive.

The word crucial is usually used to describe pivotal moments, choices, or actions that will affect everything that follows, as in We’re at a crucial point in the process—we need to make some big decisions. 

Sometimes, crucial is simply used to describe something that’s extremely important, as in Getting enough sleep is crucial for staying healthy.  

Example: I can’t express how absolutely crucial it is to surround yourself with the right friends.

The first records of the word crucial come from around the early 1700s. It comes from the Latin crux, which means “cross” and is also the root of the English word crux, meaning “a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point.”

Crucial decisions about crucial actions need to be made at crucial times. These crucial points in time are like a crossroads leading to very different directions or different outcomes.

What are some other forms of crucial?

• crucially (adverb)
• cruciality (noun)

What are some synonyms for crucial?

What are some words that share a root or word element with crucial? 

What are some words that often get used in discussing crucial?

The word crucial is typically used in the discussion of pivotal moments or decisions.

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of crucial?

A. optional
B. critical
C. imperitive
D. important

• The less crucial amino acids seem to help organisms deal with oxidation, a 2018 study concluded, hinting that LUCA’s forerunners incorporated them while evolving in an environment rich in oxygen or other oxidizing compounds.

  Your ancestors might have been Martians|Charlie Wood|February 12, 2021|Popular-Science

• With venture capital crucial to catalyze business growth, the funding model needs to change.

  Funds are emerging to back African female tech founders|Abubakar Idris|February 12, 2021|Quartz

• However, we’ve seen users are spending more time on TikTok than Facebook, and it is crucial for marketers to provide those users with content.

  ‘The momentum is there’: In 2021, marketers are starting to see TikTok as a staple of the social budget|Kristina Monllos|February 12, 2021|Digiday

• In an article published today in the journal Science, researchers stressed that building an understanding of how these particles are affecting us—especially the most tiny pieces—is crucial.

  Microplastics are everywhere. Here’s what that means for our health.|Ula Chrobak|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science

• ProPublica went on to use the disciplinary data we published to do more crucial stories.

  ProPublica’s “NYPD Files” Wins John Jay College/Harry Frank Guggenheim Award for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting|by ProPublica|February 11, 2021|ProPublica

• All it needs is one more “pipe” to select and transmit the crucial information.

  Red Tape and Black Boxes: Why We Keep ‘Losing’ Airliners in 2014|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• During two years in Iranian custody, Abdolhamid provided crucial details of how Jundullah operated.

  The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• Some pilots consider the infrared marker to be crucial to the close air-support mission to support ground troops.

  Newest U.S. Stealth Fighter ‘10 Years Behind’ Older Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• And some of the most compelling statements came from a powerful, crucial set of equality allies: corporations.

  Corporations Are No Longer Silent on LGBT Issues||December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• From the looks of it, mistletoe is a keystone species and plays a crucial role in that forest ecosystem.

  Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

• A crucial question, very much affected by what the Admiral told me last night.

  Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

• "I'm so very sorry," Anson said, slightly flustered, remembering that this was always the crucial moment in a sale.

  The Salesman|Waldo T. Boyd

• Colonel Mildmay considered; they were approaching the crucial point, and he took his resolution.

  Robin Redbreast|Mary Louisa Molesworth

• Bernadotte moved slowly, and did not render his force effective at the crucial moment.

  The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane

• Some of my green men had funked just at the crucial moment, and I had all but shot one.

  Four Days|Hetty Hemenway

SYNONYMS

pivotal, critical, key, climacteric, decisive, deciding, determining, settling, testing, trying, searching

major, significant, influential, momentous, consequential, weighty, big, important, historic, epoch-making, far-reaching, life-and-death

SYNONYMS

very important, of the utmost importance, of great consequence, of the essence, critical, high-priority, pre-eminent, paramount, all-important, essential, vital, vitally important, indispensable, mandatory, urgent, pressing, compelling, necessary, needed, required, requisite

important

critical

fundamental

imperative

of the essence. See syn. study at acute.acute

trivial(antonym)

crying

final

trying

crisis

criticality

uncritical(antonym)

unimportant(antonym)

desperate

conclusive

decide(related)

difficult

of vital importance(related)

pivotal

deciding

determining

climactic

fateful

central

basic

climacteric

climatic

dire

grave

ordea

safety(related)

noncrucial(antonym)

severe

high-priority

watershed