fundamental

[ fuhn-duh-men-tl ]

/ ˌfʌn dəˈmɛn tl /

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See synonyms for: fundamental / fundamentals / fundamentally 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR fundamental

1 indispensable, primary.

See synonyms for fundamental on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of fundamental

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

OTHER WORDS FROM fundamental

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

Words nearby fundamental

function space, function word, functor, fund, fundament, fundamental, fundamental bass, fundamental constant, fundamental force, fundamental frequency, fundamental interaction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fundamental in a sentence

It is a fundamental division over whether the party should become a right-wing populist cult willing to subvert democracy to keep power.
Stop trying to save the GOP. It’s hopeless.|Jennifer Rubin|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Surprisingly, this fundamental assumption had yet to be tested in an experimental study.
Caged heat: Mesquite bugs battle in a plastic cup—for science!|Jennifer Ouellette|February 11, 2021|Ars Technica
If the numbers predict a rebound and the scouts’ eyes don’t see fundamental deterioration, they act.
The Nationals, like the rest of us, want to forget about 2020. That might be pretty smart.|Thomas M. Boswell|February 10, 2021|Washington Post
In other words, because AI mimics the brain, which has a completely alien structure to modern computers, there’s a fundamental incompatibility.
This ‘Quantum Brain’ Would Mimic Our Own to Speed Up AI|Shelly Fan|February 9, 2021|Singularity Hub

Ward has found mathematical commonalities in different contexts and believes something fundamental could be going on behind the scenes.
Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries|Elizabeth Landau|February 8, 2021|Quanta Magazine
Everyone out there who says, “Charlie Hebdo provoked,” is making the same fundamental error.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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
In very different but related ways, they raise fundamental questions irrespective of race about how policing gets done.
Eric Garner Was Choked to Death for Selling Loosies|Nick Gillespie|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Besides this fundamental or primary vibration, the movement divides itself into segments, or sections, of the entire length.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
What the ear hears is the fundamental pitch only; the overtones harmonize with the primary or fundamental tone, and enrich it.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Not only have its fundamental principles been fully vindicated but in most details the working of the measure has been successful.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Judge for yourself the difficulty surrounding the remainder of the symbols and fundamental truths of christianity.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
And hence the reader can notice the fundamental difference between all other methods and mine.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)

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 forms of fundamental

fundamentality 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

fundamental

OTHER WORDS FOR fundamental

Origin of fundamental

OTHER WORDS FROM fundamental

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How to use fundamental in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fundamental

Derived forms of fundamental