fundamental

[ fuhn-duh-men-tl ]

/ ˌfʌn dəˈmɛn tl /

Save This Word!

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

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use fundamental in a sentence

Eike waved away the Cassandras and spun his dedication to “fundamentals.”
The Rise And Fall Of Brazilian Billionaire Eike Batista|Mac Margolis|November 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To threaten these fundamentals over a disagreement about insurance policy seems crazy to Democrats.
Republicans Against the Republic|Lawrence Lessig|October 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"We have a lot of strong fundamentals to support continued improving automotive sales," said GM senior economist Sue Yingzi Su.
Automakers Scramble to Deal With Government Shutdown|CNBC|October 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And while the political specifics may often differ, she says, certain fundamentals remain.
The Green Tea Party: Debbie Dooley Battles Big Energy|Michelle Cottle|September 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Over time he realized that to do the job better, he needed to know the fundamentals of the ancient divining art.
Your Future Is in the Palm of Your (Surgeon’s) Hand|Jake Adelstein, Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky|July 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This is one of the fundamentals in that large class of cases growing out of deceit.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
Their laws were at various times revised and added to, and finally printed in 1671, under the title of "Their Great Fundamentals."
The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 1 of 2|Egerton Ryerson
Only so can the fundamentals of religion and the duties of church membership be intelligently grasped.
The Minister and the Boy|Allan Hoben
To the chapter on Fundamentals must be added that on Things figurative touching the reason of types.
The Thoughts of Blaise Pascal|Blaise Pascal
In this field, as in "Carpentry," I do not find any guide which is adapted to teach the boy the fundamentals of mechanics.
Practical Mechanics for Boys|J. S. Zerbe

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

Words related to fundamental

How to use fundamental in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fundamental

Derived forms of fundamental