crucial
adj.adj. extremely important or necessary. You use this when something is so significant that it can change the final result of a situation.
adj. of the highest importance; decisive for the final outcome of a situation. Often used to describe a factor or moment upon which success or failure depends.
Water is crucial for all living things.
The witness provided crucial evidence that helped the jury reach a final decision in the case.
While the initial funding was helpful, the team's ability to adapt to shifting market demands proved to be the most crucial factor in their long-term survival.
1706, from French crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from Latin crux, crucis (“cross”) (English crux), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). The meaning “decisive, critical” is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon in his influential Novum Organum (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking roads, thus a requirement to choose.
Commonly followed by the prepositions 'to' or 'for'. Often used in the structure 'It is crucial that...' followed by a subjunctive or 'should' clause.
This is more crucial than that.This is more important than that.Crucial is often considered a non-gradable adjective; while 'more crucial' is used in casual speech, formal writing prefers 'more important' or 'even more crucial'.