DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

crucial

[ kroo-shuhl ]
/ ˈkru ʃəl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR crucial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

involving an extremely important decision or result; decisive; critical: a crucial experiment.
severe; trying.
of the form of a cross; cross-shaped.

Content related to crucial

Bellatrix LestrangeRead more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
5 Relative Pronouns That We Use Every DaySpoilers: We’ll be diving into who vs. whom in this one! The first thing we should mention is that relative pronouns introduce relative clauses. A relative clause is a type of dependent clause (a clause that can’t stand by itself as a complete sentence). It adds extra information to a sentence. The five relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, and that. Who vs. Whom …
READ MORE

Words related to crucial

deciding, necessary, touchy, pressing, compelling, urgent, vital, pivotal, central, imperative, decisive, essential, momentous, acute, clamorous, desperate, dire, insistent, searching, showdown

Words nearby crucial

crst syndrome, crt, crtc, cru, cruces, crucial, crucian, crucian carp, cruciate, cruciate anastomosis, cruciate ligament

Origin of crucial

1700–10; < Latin cruci- (stem of crux) cross + -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM crucial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for crucial

British Dictionary definitions for crucial

crucial
/ (ˈkruːʃəl) /

adjective

involving a final or supremely important decision or event; decisive; critical
informal very important
slang very good

Derived forms of crucial

crucially, adverb

Word Origin for crucial

C18: from French, from Latin crux cross
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012