Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Crucial |
CrucialAdjective1. Of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis; "a crucial moment in his career"; "a crucial election"; "a crucial issue for women". 2. Having crucial relevance; "crucial to the case"; "relevant testimony". 3. Of the greatest importance; "the all-important subject of disarmament"; "crucial information"; "in chess cool nerves are of the essence". 4. Having the power or quality of deciding; "the crucial experiment"; "cast the deciding vote"; "the determinative (or determinant) battle". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "crucial" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Crucial A crucial test. A very severe and undeniable one. The allusion is to a fancy of Lord Bacon's, who said that two different diseases or sciences might run parallel for a time, but would ultimately cross each other: thus, the plague might for a time resemble other diseases, but when the bubo or boil appeared, the plague would assume its specific character. Hence the phrase instantia crucis (a crucial or unmistakable symptom), a crucial experiment, a crucial example, a crucial question, etc. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| crm | English | Crucial reaction measurement | Engineering & Technology |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: CrucialSynonyms: all important(p) (adj), all-important(a) (adj), deciding(a) (adj), determinant (adj), determinative (adj), determining(a) (adj), essential (adj), important (adj), of the essence(p) (adj), relevant (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: noncrucial (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Crossing | Cross, cruciform, crucial; retiform, reticular, reticulated; areolar, cancellated, grated, barred, streaked; textile; crossbarred, cruciate, palmiped, secant; web-footed. |
Demonstration | Categorical, decisive, crucial. |
Experiment | Verification, probation, experimentum crucis, proof, (demonstration); criterion, diagnostic, test, probe, crucial test, acid test, litmus test. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Crucial |
| English words defined with "crucial": acid test, alpha and omega ♦ breaking point ♦ crisis, crucially ♦ deciding, determinant, determinative, determining ♦ grave, grievous ♦ heavy ♦ important ♦ key ♦ moment of truth ♦ pivotal, polar ♦ relevant ♦ weighty. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "crucial": amygdala's central nucleus ♦ CDC2, Complement 3a, Complement 5a, cysteinyl, cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase ♦ Genes, myc, Growth Cones ♦ JPEG File Interchange Format ♦ Noninductive Current Drive ♦ pivotal state, Proto-Oncogene Protein c-kit ♦ Receptor, trkA, Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing, register set, repeated measures, repeated-measures ♦ Site Safety Plan, Smartdrive ♦ T-cell receptor, TcR. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Crucial" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (critical, crucial, pivotal, vital), Portuguese (crucial), Romanian (crucial, decisive), Spanish (crucial). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Raziel, your role in this world's is more crucial and more benevolent than you've allowed yourself to believe. (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver II; writing credit: Amy Hennig) That seems like a pretty crucial conjunction. (The Emperor's New Groove; writing credit: Chris Williams; Mark Dindal) | |
Lyrics | Oh you lift me up to the crucial top, so I can see (Alive And Kicking; performing artist: Simple Minds; writing credit: Simple Minds) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Columbo: The Most Crucial Game (1972) The Crucial Test (1916) At the Crucial Moment (1914) A Crucial Test (1912) The Crucial Test (1911) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | P. acnes is associated with the disease acne, an infection within the skin's oil producing glands, leading to the formation of pimples. Hormones play a crucial role in this process. Credit: CDC. |  | War production drive. Anthracite rallies. Nurse Anne Bernatitus spoke to anthracite miners on the crucial need for more coal production, at the anthracite rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, her hometown. The rally was one of four held in Eastern Pennsyl. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Cell membranes are crucial for neurons to generate electrical impulses. (references) | |
They send out branches to form crucial connections with other brain cells. (references) | ||
Accurate diagnosis of the type of epilepsy a person has is crucial for finding an effective treatment. (references) | ||
Business | Language is a crucial factor in France. (references) | |
Partner selection is the most crucial issue. (references) | ||
Letters of credit are crucial to Egyptian trade. (references) | ||
Economic History | Romania | The new government made a crucial early misstep. (references) |
Sri Lanka | Price is generally the most crucial factor in selling. (references) | |
Japan | Frequent communication by fax, email or phone is crucial. (references) | |
Human Rights | Sri Lanka | Crucial safeguards built into the Emergency Regulations (ER) and the legislation establishing the HRC often were ignored by the security forces-especially those provisions requiring receipts to be issued for arrests and ordering the security forces to notify the HRC of any arrest within 48 hours. (references) |
Indigenous People | Taiwan | Land rights remain a crucial issue for Aborigines, along with social discrimination, educational underachievement, low economic status, and high rates of alcoholism. (references) |
Minorities | Macedonia | Albanian-language education remained a crucial issue for the ethnic-Albanian community; it is seen as vital for preserving Albanian heritage and culture. (references) |
Political Economy | CZECH REPUBLIC | Workers have the right to strike, except for those whose role in public order or public safety is deemed crucial. (references) |
Bolivia | Improved administration of justice is crucial to diminishing corruption and regulatory interference in the Bolivian business climate. (references) | |
HAITI | The political crisis and the lack of an IMF agreement prevent the resumption of crucial budgetary assistance from international donors. (references) | |
Trade | Czech Rep | For higher-value items, financing is tricky, yet crucial. (references) |
France | In fields such as those under EH directives (i.e. medical equipment) or subcontracting in the auto-industry, conformity to ISO 9000 is crucial to stay competitive. (references) | |
Turkey | However, given the continuing gap between Turkey's extensive needs and its limited internal resources, external financing of public and private project investment will be a crucial factor in this and coming years. (references) | |
Travel | Belgium | As in any other country, language is a crucial part of doing business in Belgium. (references) |
Laos | SINCE THE EMPHASIS PLACED ON PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IS SO HIGH, HAVING A RELIABLE AND WELL-CONNECTED LOCAL AGENT OR REPRESENTATIVE IS OFTEN CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF A FOREIGN VENTURE. (references) | |
Korea | For Koreans, relationships are all important; "cold calls" don't work -- introductions are crucial! Koreans want to do business with people with whom they have formed a personal connection or whereby a mutual intermediary has made an introduction. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Mexico | The SME had not withdrawn officially from the CT at year's end; however, it maintains no contact with the CT. PRI-affiliated union officers traditionally helped select, ran as, and campaigned for PRI candidates in federal and state elections and supported past PRI government policies at crucial moments. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | Together with the Soviet Union we have made the crucial breakthroughs that have begun the process of limiting nuclear arms. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | In Africa the quest for peace, racial justice, and economic progress is at a crucial point. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | I hope that the new administration and the Congress will keep up the momentum we have established for effective and responsible change in this area of crucial public concern. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Private sector initiatives are crucial to our future. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | Civil rights are also crucial to protecting equal opportunity. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Connecting classrooms and libraries to the Internet is crucial, but it's just a start. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | We affirm the right of parents to have better information about the schools, and to make crucial decisions about their children's future. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Crucial" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.84% of the time. "Crucial" is used about 4,464 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 99.84% | 4,457 | 2,195 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.16% | 7 | 133,076 |
| Total | 100.00% | 4,464 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "crucial": at the crucial moment ♦ crucial difference ♦ crucial element ♦ crucial experience ♦ crucial point ♦ crucial scene ♦ crucial test. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "crucial": semi-crucial. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "crucial"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | vendimtar (conclusive, critical, decisive, determinant, determinative, winning), në formë kryqi, kritik (animadversion, climacteric, critic, critical, judicial). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مصيري (fatal, fateful), حاسم (absolute, categorical, conclusive, critical, decided, decisive, definite, definitive, determinate, fateful, final, high, peremptory, pivotal, unqualified), عصيب (acute, critical), صليبي الشكل (cruciate, cruciform). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | съдбоносен (fatal, fateful, vital, weird), решаващ (conclusive, decisive, determinant, determinative, last), критически (critical), повратен (turning). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 關鍵 (key), 关". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | stìžejní (key, main), rozhodující (chief, commanding, critical, decisive, determinative, fatal, main, predominant, supreme, vital, winning), kritický (acute, critical, discerning, discriminating). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | traktoren med flere kratftudtagsaksler og hydraulisk system er blevet noeglemaskinen for énmandsbedriften (the tractor with general power take-off shafts and a hydraulic lift has become the crucial machine for oneman field work), ligamenta cruciata digitorum manus et pedis (crucial part of fibrous flexor sheat of hand and foot). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | cruciale. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | قاطع (Categorical, Clincher, Conclusive, Decisive, Incisive, Overbearing, Secant, Trenchant, Unanswerable), وخیم (Critical, Dire, Fatal, Serious, Tense), بسیارسخت (Desperate). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | crucial (critical), critique (critic, critical, criticalness, critique), capital, super, décisif. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | entscheidend (arbitrative, clinching, conclusive, conclusively, critical, deciding, decisive, decisively, fatal, governing, make or break, operative, vital, winning), kritisch (censorious, censoriously, critical, critically, discerningly, discriminating, judicial, make or break, selective, trying). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | κρίσιμοσ (climacteric, climactic, climactical, critical), καίριοσ (fatal, well timed), σταυροειδήσ (crosswise, cruciform), αποφασιστικόσ (decided, decisive, determinative, determined, resolute, strong-minded), αυστηρόσ (austere, censorious, disciplinarian, puritanic, puritanical, rigorous, severe, stern, strict, stringent), οξύσ (acid, acute, cuspidal, cuspidate, cuspidated, keen, pang, penetrating, piercing, piked, piping, pointed, pungent, screechy, sharp, shrill, smart, trenchant, twang). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | מכריע (amphibrach, arbitrator, conclusive, critical, decisive, definitive, overwhelming, pivotal), 'ורלי (critical, fateful). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | válságos (critical), kritikus (censorious, climacteric, critic, critical). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | penting sekali. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | cruciale (critical), critico (climacteric, critic, critical, judge, reviewer), decisivo (arbitrative, clinching, conclusive, decisive, definitive, final, plump). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 肝腎 (essential, fundamental, main, vital), 肝要 (essential, importance, vital), 肝心 (essential, fundamental, main, vital), 決め所 (perfect). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | きめど"ろ (crucial point, perfect, perfect chance), か"よう (common, cultivation, customary, essential, forbearance, fostering, generosity, government business, governmental porcelain furnace, importance, lobe of the liver, official use, tolerance, training, vital), か"じ" (aChinese, armorer, essential, fundamental, magnanimous, main, man of leisure, scoundrel, temple solicitation, villain, vital). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 결 (Conclusive, Crystal, Crystallizing, Deciding, Decision, Definitive, Determinant, Determining, irrevocable). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | ard-ghaueagh. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norwegian | avgjørende (decisive). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ucialcray crucial, crítico (argumentative, assailant, climacteric, critic, critical, reviewer, serious), decisivo (closing, conclusive, decisive, definitive, determinative, final, forthright, incisive, peremptory, striking, winning). (various references) crucial (decisive), critic (censorious, climacteric, critic, critical, critically, decisive, delicate, judge, supreme, ticklish), hotãrâtor (all out, conclusive, decisive, determinative, final, weighty), decisiv (conclusive, critical, decisive, definitive, determinant, determinative, fateful, final, ultimate, winning). (various references) критический (critical). (various references) sudbonosan (fateful, ominous), presudan (decisive), preloman (refractive), odlučan (decided, decretory, determined, point blank, purposeful, resolute, resolved, settled, spirited, stalwart, trojan). (various references) crucial. (various references) kritisk (critical, head, touch and go, vital), avgörande (Cardinal, conclusion, conclusive, deciding, decision, decisive, definitive, fateful, operative, seminal, vital). (various references) zor (arduous, baffling, constraint, cruel, difficult, exacting, force, formidable, hairy, hard, inconvenient, knotty, main, mean, might, rough, sticky, stiff, strain, tight, trickish, uneasy), kritik (climacteric, critical, review, supreme, tight), haç (cross, crucifix, rood), çok önemli (all important, of great importance, of the essence, very important), çetrefilli (complicated, knotted, knotty, thorny). (various references) критичний (climacteric, critical, satiric), вирішальний (all in all, conclusive, critical, decisive, determinant, determinative, fateful, final, winning). (various references) quyết định; cốt yếu. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "crucial": crucially. (additional references) | |
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"Crucial" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: acrucial, Carucci, Coucal, Crishill, crocdial, crocea, crocean, cruci, crucia, crucian, Crudia, cruicial, crusia, crusial, crutial, cruxial, Cushla, kruskal, Rucia, Scruvial. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "crucial" (pronounced kruw"shul) |
| 3 | -sh u l | antisocial, artificial, beneficial, biracial, bushel, commercial, confidential, controversial, essential, experiential, facial, financial, glacial, impartial, inertial, infomercial, initial, interprovincial, interracial, judicial, jurisprudential, Marshal, Marshall, martial, multiracial, noncommercial, noncontroversial, nonfinancial, nonracial, nonresidential, official, palatial, partial, Paschal, potential, prejudicial, prenuptial, provincial, quintessential, racial, sacrificial, social, spatial, special, superficial, uncontroversial, unofficial. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-c-i-l-r-u" | |
-1 letter: curial, uracil. | |
-2 letters: aulic, auric, circa, curia, urial. | |
-3 letters: aril, carl, caul, curl, laic, lair, lari, liar, lira, rail, rial, uric. | |
-4 letters: ail, air, arc, car, cur, lac, lar, ria. | |
-5 letters: ai, al, ar, la, li. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-c-i-l-r-u" | |
+1 letter: acicular, circular. | |
+2 letters: canicular, circuital, circulars, circulate, corbicula, crucially, curricula, cuticular, ultrachic. | |
+3 letters: articulacy, circularly, circulated, circulates, circulator, clavicular, corbiculae, curricular, fascicular, inculcator, precalculi, uncritical. | |
+4 letters: autarchical, calciferous, canalicular, caricatural, circularise, circularity, circularize, circulating, circulation, circulative, circulators, circulatory, circumlunar, circumpolar, equicaloric, inculcators, macronuclei, noncircular, plutocratic, recirculate, subcortical, subcritical, unpractical. | |
+5 letters: articulacies, autocratical, capriciously, cherubically, circularised, circularises, circularized, circularizes, circularness, circulatable, circulations, cocurricular, conductorial, counterclaim, cryosurgical, epicuticular, fascicularly, granulocytic, inaccurately, inarticulacy, microcapsule, plutocracies, radiolucency, recirculated, recirculates, reluctancies, secularistic, semicircular, uncirculated, uncommercial, uncritically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Quotations: Speeches 10. Usage Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Abbreviations 15. Acronyms 16. Derivations | 17. Rhymes 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
