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Synonyms

fundamental

American  
[fuhn-duh-men-tl] / ˌfʌn dəˈmɛn tl /

adjective

  1. serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying.

    fundamental principles;

    the fundamental structure.

    Synonyms:
    primary, indispensable
  2. of, relating to, or affecting the foundation or basis.

    a fundamental revision.

  3. being an original or primary source.

    a fundamental idea.

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


noun

  1. 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.

  2. Also called fundamental tone.  Also called fundamental note,Music.

    1. the root of a chord.

    2. the generator of a series of harmonics.

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

fundamental British  
/ ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəl /

adjective

  1. of, involving, or comprising a foundation; basic

  2. of, involving, or comprising a source; primary

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

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

"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

noun

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

    1. the principal or lowest note of a harmonic series

    2. the bass note of a chord in root position

  2. Also called: fundamental frequency.   first harmonicphysics

    1. the component of lowest frequency in a complex vibration

    2. the frequency of this component

"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

Other Word Forms

  • fundamentality noun
  • fundamentally adverb
  • fundamentalness noun
  • nonfundamental adjective
  • nonfundamentally adverb
  • unfundamental adjective
  • unfundamentally adverb

Etymology

Origin of fundamental

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin fundāmentālis “of, belonging to a foundation”; fundament, -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The trifecta of rich valuations, increasing macro risk, and—perhaps most importantly—deteriorating company fundamentals is very dangerous,” the authors wrote.

From Barron's

China tech analyst Poe Zhao, founder of the Hello China Tech newsletter, told AFP that the two IPOs "demonstrate both the revenue potential and the fundamental challenges facing this new generation of LLM companies".

From Barron's

But as sentiment shifts back and forth, the reality is the underlying fundamentals haven’t changed much over the past few weeks.

From Barron's

The country’s real estate remains defensive amid a moderating global economy, boosted by landlord-friendly fundamentals and supply scarcity, the analysts note.

From The Wall Street Journal

But afterward, the researchers observed that posts about short-term betting declined, replaced by discussions about business fundamentals.

From The Wall Street Journal