Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pivotal

/ˈpɪvɪtəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.50 in modern English

Syllables: piv-otal
IPA: /ˈpɪvɪtəl/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, relating to, or being a pivot.

adj

Being of crucial importance; central, key.

Example Sentences

"It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […]."
""Crucially, HS2 is already playing a pivotal role in helping Britain's post-pandemic economic recovery."

Etymology

From pivot + -al.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɪvɪtəl/
British English: /ˈpɪvɪtəl/

Inflected Forms

more pivotal (comparative) most pivotal (superlative)

Derived Forms

nonpivotal pivotality pivotally pivotalness

Phrases

pivotal quantity

Synonyms

polar

Questions

How do you pronounce pivotal?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɪvɪtəl/.
What does pivotal mean?: Of, relating to, or being a pivot.
Where does pivotal come from?: From pivot + -al.

How to pronounce pivotal

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pivotal”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɪvɪtəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pivotal”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pivotal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.