fundamental

[ fuhn-duh-men-tl ]

/ ˌfʌn dəˈmɛn tl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fundamental ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying: fundamental principles; the fundamental structure.

of, relating to, or affecting the foundation or basis: a fundamental revision.

being an original or primary source: a fundamental idea.

Music. (of a chord) having its root as its lowest note.

noun

a basic principle, rule, law, or the like, that serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part: to master the fundamentals of a trade.

Also called fundamental note, fundamental tone. Music.

the root of a chord.
the generator of a series of harmonics.

Physics. the component of lowest frequency in a composite wave.

Nearby words

Origin of fundamental

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin fundāmentālis of, belonging to a foundation. See fundament, -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR fundamental

1. indispensable, primary.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fundamental ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

fun·da·men·tal·i·ty, fun·da·men·tal·ness, nounfun·da·men·tal·ly, adverbnon·fun·da·men·tal, adjective, nounnon·fun·da·men·tal·ly, adverb

un·fun·da·men·tal, adjectiveun·fun·da·men·tal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for fundamental

This is a testament to the fundamental human—and American—desire to combine place and possibility.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the meantime, we continue to support the restoration of fundamental human rights in Cuba.
Why Congress Hates Your Cuban Rum|Tim Mak|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Moreover, for America there is a fundamental imperative to act.
U.S. Should Make North Korea Pay for Sony Hack|Gordon G. Chang|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This fundamental conservative idea, that men are brutes so women better take care, is, itself, victim-blaming.
Church Sex Scandals Are Rooted in Theology|Jay Michaelson|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Yet the Meduza office was full of hope and what the journalists described as a fundamental change—they felt free in Riga.
Russia’s Freest Website Now Lives in Latvia|Anna Nemtsova|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The whole science of great military combination is comprised in these two fundamental truths.
The Art of War|Baron Henri de Jomini
The only fundamental determinations, therefore, which cannot be wholly resolved into each other, are matter and form.
A History of Philosophy in Epitome|Albert Schwegler
To give freedom through freedom is the fundamental law of this realm.
The Aesthetical Essays|Friedrich Schiller
The two subspecies of H. microcephala agree more closely in this parameter than in fundamental frequency.
Middle American Frogs of the Hyla microcephala Group|William E. Duellman
The fundamental law of eugenics demands that all education be exerted for parenthood.
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume I. (of IV.)|W. Grant Hague, M.D.

British Dictionary definitions for fundamental

fundamental

/ (ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəl) /

adjective

of, involving, or comprising a foundation; basic

of, involving, or comprising a source; primary

music denoting or relating to the principal or lowest note of a harmonic series

of or concerned with the component of lowest frequency in a complex vibration

noun

a principle, law, etc, that serves as the basis of an idea or system

the principal or lowest note of a harmonic series
the bass note of a chord in root position

Also called: fundamental frequency, first harmonic physics

the component of lowest frequency in a complex vibration
the frequency of this component

Derived Formsfundamentality or fundamentalness, noun

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 fundamental

fundamental

adj.

mid-15c., "primary, original, pertaining to a foundation," modeled on Late Latin fundamentalis "of the foundation," from Latin fundamentum "foundation" (see fundament). Fundamentals "primary principles or rules" of anything is from 1630s.

fundamental

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of fundamental

Examples from the Web for fundamental

fundamental

adjective

noun

fundamental