| Main Entry: | fundamental |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | basic, important |
Synonyms: |
axiological, axiomatic, basal, bottom, bottom-line, cardinal, central, constitutional, constitutive, crucial, elemental, elementary, essential, first, foundational, grass-roots, indispensable, integral, intrinsic, key, major, meat-and-potatoes, necessary, organic, original, paramount, primary, prime, primitive, primordial, principal, radical, requisite, rudimentary, significant, structural, substratal, substrative, supporting, sustaining, theoretical, underived, underlying, vital |
Antonyms: |
additional, advanced, auxiliary, extra, minor, secondary, subordinate, trivial, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | necessary |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | essential |
Synonyms: |
all-important, basic, binding, bottom-line, cardinal, chief, compelling, compulsory, crucial, de rigueur, decisive, elementary, exigent, expedient, fundamental, imperative, incumbent on, indispensable, mandatory, momentous, name of game, needed, needful, obligatory, paramount, prerequisite, pressing, prime, principal, quintessential, required, requisite, significant, specified, unavoidable, urgent, vital, wanted |
Antonyms: |
inessential, unimportant, unnecessary, useless |
| Main Entry: | underlying |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fundamental, latent |
Synonyms: |
basal, basic, bottom, bottom-line, cardinal, concealed, critical, crucial, elemental, elementary, essential, hidden, indispensable, intrinsic, lurking, necessary, needful, nitty-gritty, nub, primary, prime, primitive, radical, root, substratal, veiled, vital |
Antonyms: |
secondary |
| Main Entry: | vital |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | essential |
Synonyms: |
basic, bottom-line, cardinal, coal-and-ice, constitutive, critical, crucial, decisive, fundamental, heavy*, imperative, important, indispensable, integral, key, life-or-death, meaningful, meat-and-potatoes, name, name-of-the-game, necessary, needed, nitty-gritty, prerequisite, required, requisite, significant, underlined, urgent |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
Antonyms: |
inessential, insignficant, trivial, unimportant |