| Main Entry: | constitutive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | essential |
Synonyms: |
basic, constitutional, fundamental, important, integral, key, main, vital |
| Main Entry: | cardinal |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | important, key |
Synonyms: |
basal, basic, central, chief, constitutive, essential, first, foremost, fundamental, greatest, highest, indispensable, leading, main, overriding, overruling, paramount, pivotal, preeminent, primary, prime, principal, ruling, vital |
Antonyms: |
inessential, insignificant, minor, negligible, secondary, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | essential |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | important, vital |
Synonyms: |
capital, cardinal, chief, constitutive, crucial, foremost, fundamental, imperative, indispensable, leading, main, necessary, necessitous, needed, needful, prerequisite, principal, required, requisite, right-hand, wanted |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
Antonyms: |
accessory, auxiliary, inessential, minor, nonessential, secondary, subsidiary, unimportant |
| 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: | intrinsic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | basic, inborn |
Synonyms: |
built-in, central, congenital, connate, constitutional, constitutive, deep-seated, elemental, essential, fundamental, genuine, hereditary, inbred, indwelling, inherent, inmost, innate, intimate, material, native, natural, particular, peculiar, real, true, underlying |
Antonyms: |
accidental, acquired, extrinsic, incidental, learned |
| 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 |
Antonyms: |
inessential, insignficant, trivial, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | needful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | essential |
Synonyms: |
capital, cardinal, chief, constitutive, crucial, foremost, fundamental, imperative, indispensable, leading, main, necessary, necessitous, needed, prerequisite, principal, required, requisite, right-hand, wanted |