Word choice · C1
Crucial, vital, pivotal, paramount, negligible
Crucial means the outcome depends on it. Vital and essential mean it cannot be done without. Pivotal marks the moment everything turned. Paramount means it outranks everything else. Integral means it is part of the whole. At the other end, marginal barely matters and negligible can be ignored altogether.
Which word, and why
- crucial
the outcome depends on it
Decisive for whether something succeeds or fails.
a crucial decision · crucial to the outcome · the crucial difference
- vital
cannot be done without it
Absolutely necessary.
vital for survival · a vital role · vitally important
- essential
cannot be done without it
Necessary as a minimum requirement.
essential reading · absolutely essential · essential for entry
- pivotal
the point everything turned on
The moment or element on which a whole development turned.
a pivotal moment · a pivotal role · pivotal to the outcome
- significant
large enough to matter or to notice
Big enough to have an effect, or, in statistics, unlikely to be chance.
a significant increase · statistically significant
- paramountformal
outranks everything else
More important than anything else in the situation.
safety is paramount · of paramount importance
- integral
a necessary part of a whole
Belonging to something as an essential part of it.
an integral part · integral to the design
- pressing
urgent — needs attention now
Requiring immediate action.
a pressing need · the most pressing problem
- marginal
barely enough to matter
So small that it makes little difference.
a marginal improvement · marginal gains
- negligible
small enough to ignore entirely
Too small to be worth considering.
a negligible effect · negligible cost
Now use it
10 items from this page. Nothing is saved anywhere but your own browser.
Item 1 of 10
The next six weeks will be to whether the project survives at all.