| Main Entry: | crucial |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | critical, important |
Synonyms: |
acute, central, clamorous, climacteric, climatic, compelling, deciding, decisive, desperate, dire, essential, hanging by thread, high-priority, imperative, insistent, momentous, necessary, on thin ice, pivotal, pressing, searching, showdown, touch and go, touchy, urgent, vital |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
Antonyms: |
inessential, trivial, uncritical, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | acute |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | very important |
Synonyms: |
afflictive, critical, crucial, dangerous, decisive, desperate, dire, essential, grave, serious, severe, sudden, urgent, vital |
| Notes: | acute is used for a sudden onset and short duration; chronic is for conditions that are slow to develop and of long duration acute is an angle of less than 90 degrees; obtuse is one of more than 90 degrees chronic is contrasted with acute as chronic pain persists over a longer period of time than acute pain and is resistant to most medical treatments |
Antonyms: |
not serious, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | big league |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | important |
Synonyms: |
big-time, chief, critical, crucial, exceptional, four-star, front-page, grave, great, heavy, high-power, major-league, playing hard ball, professional, serious, strictly business |
| Main Entry: | burning |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | important |
Synonyms: |
acute, clamant, clamorous, compelling, critical, crucial, crying, dire, essential, exigent, imperative, importunate, instant, pressing, significant, urgent, vital |
Antonyms: |
unimportant |
| Main Entry: | chief |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | most important, essential |
Synonyms: |
arch, capital, cardinal, central, champion, consequential, controlling, crucial, effective, especial, first, foremost, grand, head, highest, key, leading, main, major, momentous, number one, outstanding, paramount, potent, predominant, preeminent, premier, primal, primary, prime, principal, ruling, significant, star, stellar, superior, supreme, telling, uppermost, vital, weighty |
Antonyms: |
inessential, minor, secondary, subordinate, unimportant, unnecessary |
| Main Entry: | climactic/climacteric |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | decisive |
Synonyms: |
acute, climactical, critical, crucial, desperate, dire, paramount, peak |
Antonyms: |
anticlimacteric, anticlimactic, bathetic, indecisive, trivial, undecided |
| Main Entry: | critical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | urgently important |
Synonyms: |
acute, all-important, climacteric, conclusive, consequential, crucial, dangerous, deciding, decisive, desperate, determinative, dire, exceptive, grave, hairy*, hazardous, high-priority, integral, momentous, perilous, pivotal, precarious, pressing, risky, serious, significant, strategic, urgent, vital, weighty |
Antonyms: |
trivial, uncritical, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | deciding |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | determining |
Synonyms: |
chief, conclusive, critical, crucial, decisive, important, influential, key, necessary, prime, principal, significant |
Antonyms: |
inconclusive, insignificant, secondary, trivial, uncritical, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | decisive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | definite |
Synonyms: |
absolute, all out, assured, bent, certain, conclusive, crisp, critical, crucial, decided, definitive, determined, fateful, final, firm, flat out, forceful, imperative, imperious, incisive, influential, intent, litmus test, momentous, peremptory, positive, resolute, resolved, set, settled, significant, straight out, strong-minded, trenchant |
Antonyms: |
indecisive, indefinite, procrastinating, unpositive |
| Main Entry: | desperate |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | extreme, intense |
Synonyms: |
acute, climacteric, concentrated, critical, crucial, dire, drastic, exquisite, fierce, furious, great, terrible, urgent, vehement, very grave, vicious, violent |
Antonyms: |
calm, content, contented, satisfactory, satisfied |