pivotal

[ piv-uh-tl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or serving as a pivot.
2. of vital or critical importance:

   a pivotal event.

pivotal

/ ˈpɪvətəl /

adjective

1. of, involving, or acting as a pivot
2. of crucial importance

Derived Forms

• ˈpivotally, adverb

Other Words From

• pivot·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of pivotal¹

First recorded in 1835–45; pivot + -al ¹

Example Sentences

That those same experts have played pivotal roles in steering Hong Kong’s highly successful pandemic response does not seem to matter.

From Quartz

Voter-suppression attempts must be remedied before this pivotal election.

From Fortune

These reviews and ratings summarize your business’ track record and can play a pivotal role in influencing searchers to visit or contact your business.

From Search Engine Land

This scramble to manufacture vaccines has risks that the world witnessed 65 years ago, at a similarly pivotal moment for medical science.

From Ozy

We started 2020, which was supposed to be a pivotal comeback year for the agencies, with most of them hovering around 3% growth.

From Digiday

The Barclays Center where the Duke and Duchess will be seated would have stood in thick of where the pivotal action transpired.

From The Daily Beast

He was pivotal in the creation and survival of the Museum of Modern Art.

From The Daily Beast

A pivotal moment comes when Amir admits he felt more than a flicker of pride when fanatics attacked the Twin Towers.

From The Daily Beast

“Carrie Bradshaw was so pivotal in creating the allure of the New York City woman,” Arora says.

From The Daily Beast

The issues that currently favor Democrats are very likely to be pivotal ones come 2016.

From The Daily Beast

This is the motto, drawn from Emerson, which she chooses for her poem of "Epochs," which marks a pivotal moment in her life.

From Project Gutenberg

Hence, the picture must continually change, and pivotal flexibility is especially necessary.

From Project Gutenberg

Primarily, it is obedience to the dramatic instinct that causes this pivotal action.

From Project Gutenberg

That the pivotal action of the body in a monologue is especially important can be seen at once.

From Project Gutenberg

Without this pivotal action, the reader is apt to declaim a monologue, and confuse it with a speech.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• central
• climactic
• critical
• crucial
• decisive
• essential
• momentous
• vital