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key - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | key |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | essential, important |
| Synonyms: | basic, chief, crucial, decisive, fundamental, indispensable, leading, main, major, material, pivotal, primary, principal, vital |
| Antonyms: | insignificant, nonessential, unimportant, inessential |
| Main Entry: | key |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | item that unlocks |
| Synonyms: | screw*, skeleton, latchkey, opener, passkey |
| Antonyms: | lock |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | key |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | answer, solution |
| Synonyms: | blueprint, brand, cipher, clue, code, core, crux, cue, earmark, explanation, guide, hinge, index, indicator, interpretation, lead, lever, marker, means, nexus, nucleus, passport, password, pivot, pointer, root, sign, symptom, ticket, translation, fulcrum |
| Antonyms: | question |
| Main Entry: | access |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | admission, means of entry, approach |
| Synonyms: | admittance, approach, avenue, connection, contact, course, door, entrance, entree, entry, ingress, introduction, key, open door*, passage, path, road, route, way, in, open arms |
| Antonyms: | egress, outlet |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | answer |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reply; reaction |
| Synonyms: | acknowledgment, back talk, close, comeback, comment, cooler*, crack, defense, disclosure, echo, elucidation, explanation, feedback, guff*, interpretation, justification, key, lip*, observation, pay dirt*, plea, quick fix*, rebuttal, refutation, rejoinder, remark, repartee, report, resolution, response, result, retort, return, riposte, sign, solution, statement, vindication, wisecrack, antiphon, backcap, band-aid, counterclaim, parting shot, rhetorical question, thank-you note, the ticket, topper |
| Notes: | an answer is something said, written, or done in return; a reply is an answer that satisfies a detail in a question |
| Antonyms: | question |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | basic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | elementary, fundamental |
| Synonyms: | basal, capital, central, chief, elemental, essential, indispensable, inherent, intrinsic, key, main, necessary, primary, primitive, principal, radical, underlying, vital, substratal |
| Antonyms: | additional, extra, nonessential, outside, peripheral, secondary, inessential |
| Main Entry: | central |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | main, principal; in the middle |
| Synonyms: | basic, cardinal, center, chief, dominant, equidistant, essential, focal, foremost, fundamental, important, inmost, inner, interior, intermediate, key, leading, master, mean, median, mid, middle, outstanding, overriding, paramount, pivotal, predominant, primary, prime, radical, ruling, salient, significant, axial, centric, centroidal, middlemost, midmost, midway, nuclear, omphalic, umbilical |
| Antonyms: | exterior, minor, outside, peripheral, secondary |
| 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: | minor, secondary, subordinate, unimportant, unnecessary, inessential |
| Main Entry: | clue |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | hint, evidence |
| Synonyms: | cue, dead giveaway*, indication, inkling, intimation, key, lead, mark, notion, pointer, print, proof, sign, solution, suggestion, suspicion, telltale, tip, trace, track, wind, hot lead, tip-off |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | cue |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | signal to act |
| Synonyms: | catchword, clue, hint, idea, indication, inkling, innuendo, intimation, job, key, lead, nod, notion, prod, prompt, reminder, sign, suggestion, telltale*, warning, hot lead, in the wind, mnemonic, prompting, tip-off |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| 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: | definition |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | description |
| Synonyms: | annotation, answer, clarification, clue, comment, commentary, cue, delineation, demarcation, denotation, determination, diagnosis, drift, elucidation, explanation, exposition, fixing, gloss, interpretation, key, outlining, rationale, rendition, representation, solution, terminology, translation, analogue, characterization, delimitation, exemplification, explication, expounding, formalization, individuation, rendering, settling, signification, statement of meaning |
| Antonyms: | ambiguity, nonsense, vagueness |
| Main Entry: | fundamental |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | basic, important |
| Synonyms: | axiomatic, basal, bottom, cardinal, central, constitutional, crucial, elemental, elementary, essential, first, indispensable, integral, intrinsic, key, major, necessary, organic, original, paramount, primary, prime, primitive, primordial, principal, radical, requisite, rudimentary, significant, structural, supporting, theoretical, underlying, vital, axiological, bottom-line, constitutive, foundational, grass-roots, meat-and-potatoes, substratal, substrative, sustaining, underived |
| Antonyms: | additional, advanced, auxiliary, extra, minor, secondary, subordinate, trivial, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | guideline |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | direction |
| Synonyms: | clue, code, guidance, guide, instruction, key, mark, marker, precept, protocol, rule, signal, ground rule, standard procedure |
| Main Entry: | indispensable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | necessary |
| Synonyms: | basal, basic, cardinal, crucial, essential, fundamental, imperative, key, needed, prerequisite, primary, required, requisite, vital, necessitous, needful |
| Antonyms: | dispensable, needless, nonessential, redundant, superfluous, unnecessary |
| Main Entry: | island |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | land surrounded by body of water |
| Synonyms: | atoll, bar, cay, haven, key, peninsula, reef, refuge, retreat, sanctuary, shelter, archipelago, enclave, isle, islet |
| Main Entry: | operative |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | active, functioning; influential |
| Synonyms: | accessible, alive, crucial, current, dynamic, effective, efficient, functional, important, indicative, key, live, open, operational, practicable, relevant, running, serviceable, significant, standing, usable, workable, working, employable, in force, in operation |
| Antonyms: | inactive, ineffective, ineffectual, inoperative, useless, worthless, unfunctional, unworking |
| Main Entry: | passport |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | identification of origin, country |
| Synonyms: | authorization, credentials, key, license, pass, permit, ticket, warrant, safe-conduct, travel permit, visa |
| Main Entry: | password |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | secret word given for entry |
| Synonyms: | countersign, identification, key, open sesame*, parole, phrase, signal, ticket, watchword, word, key word |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | principal |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | most important |
| Synonyms: | arch, capital, cardinal, champion, chief, controlling, crowning, dominant, essential, first, foremost, head, highest, incomparable, key, leading, main, major, matchless, maximum, outstanding, paramount, peerless, predominant, preeminent, premier, prevailing, primary, prime, prominent, sovereign, star, stellar, superior, supreme, transcendent, unapproachable, unequaled, unparalleled, unrivaled, greatest, mainline, second-to-none, strongest, supereminent |
| Antonyms: | auxiliary, extra, least, lesser, minor, secondary, trivial, unimportant |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

