crucial

[ kroo-shuhl ]

/ ˈkru ʃəl /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

Origin of crucial

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

SYNONYMS FOR crucial

1. momentous, vital, essential, significant.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crucial ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

cru·ci·al·i·ty

[kroo-shee-al-i-tee, kroo-shal-] /ˌkru ʃiˈæl ɪ ti, kruˈʃæl-/, nouncru·cial·ly, adverbnon·cru·cial, adjectivenon·cru·cial·ly, adverb

pre·cru·cial, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for crucial

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
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

Given that crucial importance, The Macallan is famously hands-on when it comes to its wooden barrels.
How Much Do Whisky Casks Really Affect Taste?||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Surely, you will not fail me now at this most crucial moment of my life.
The Beauty|Mrs. Wilson Woodrow
It was this reduced council of the subordinates, as will presently appear, that made the crucial decision of the campaign.
Lincoln|Nathaniel Wright Stephenson
He fidgeted a little; as he approached the crucial point, his gaze evaded mine.
The Firefly Of France|Marion Polk Angellotti
It is a crucial test, a heart-rending test for a boy of twenty years.
The Courage of the Commonplace|Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews
Calmness descended upon him as he realized that he was soon to face a crucial test.
The Mind Master|Arthur J. Burks

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 Formscrucially, 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

Word Origin and History for crucial

crucial

adj.

1706, "cross-shaped," from French crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from Latin crux (genitive crucis) "cross" (see cross (n.)). The meaning "decisive, critical" (1830) is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking roads, thus a requirement to choose.

crucial

adjective

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Origin of crucial

Examples from the Web for crucial

crucial

adjective

Word Origin for crucial

crucial