crucial
/ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.28 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland."
- "A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower."
- "The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients."
- "Vocabulary provides a foundation from which grammar, phonology, and morphology emerge, and in a subject area it provides access to conceptual knowledge. Vocabulary selection for pedagogical purposes is therefore crucial."
- "Language is crucial because it is the best weapon against violence. When children don’t have the words to express their thoughts, they raise their fists."
- "Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton."
Etymology
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.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
more crucial (comparative)
most crucial (superlative)
Derived Forms
Phrases
crucial experiment