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.

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Origin of crucial

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

OTHER WORDS FROM crucial

Words nearby crucial

CRST syndrome, CRT, CRTC, cru, cruces, crucial, crucian, crucian carp, cruciate, cruciate anastomosis, cruciate ligament
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to crucial

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

Example sentences 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