crucial

adjective

Essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important; vital.

(slang, especially Jamaica, Bermuda) Very good; excellent; particularly applied to reggae music.

(archaic) Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.

Roots

Synonyms for crucial

importantadj essentialadj pivotaladj vitaladj criticaladj decisiveadj momentousadj imperativeadj fundamentaladj necessaryadj decidingn

Synonyms & related words for crucial

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of crucial — including important, essential, pivotal, vital, critical, decisive. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to crucial

Explore words related to crucial — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include cruciality, crucially, pivotally, indispensable, essentialness, indispensableness, vitally, indispensably. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for crucial

Common synonyms for crucial include important, essential, pivotal, vital, critical, decisive, momentous, imperative — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does crucial come from?

The word crucial breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root cruc-, from Latin crux (“cross”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.