| 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: |
inessential, insignificant, nonessential, unimportant |
| 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, substratal, underlying, vital |
Antonyms: |
additional, extra, inessential, nonessential, outside, peripheral, secondary |
| Main Entry: | central |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | main, principal; in the middle |
Synonyms: |
axial, basic, cardinal, center, centric, centroidal, chief, dominant, equidistant, essential, focal, foremost, fundamental, important, inmost, inner, interior, intermediate, key, leading, master, mean, median, mid, middle, middlemost, midmost, midway, nuclear, omphalic, outstanding, overriding, paramount, pivotal, predominant, primary, prime, radical, ruling, salient, significant, 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: |
inessential, minor, secondary, subordinate, unimportant, unnecessary |
| 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: | essential |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | basic, fundamental |
Synonyms: |
absolute, basal, cardinal, cold, complete, congenital, connate, constitutional, deep-seated, elemental, elementary, ideal, inborn, inbred, inherent, innate, intrinsic, key, main, material, meat and potatoes, name of the game, nitty-gritty, nub, perfect, primary, prime, primitive, principal, quintessential, substratal, underlying |
| Notes: | the words crucial, essential, and vital cannot be qualified (cannot be more or less...) |
Antonyms: |
atypical, minor, secondary |
| Main Entry: | first |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | earliest in order |
Synonyms: |
aboriginal, ahead, antecedent, anterior, basic, beginning, cardinal, early, elementary, first off, front, fundamental, head, headmost, in the beginning, inaugural, inceptive, incipient, initial, introductory, key, lead off, leading, least, number one, numero uno, opening, original, pioneer, premier, primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, primordial, pristine, right up front, rudimentary, slightest, smallest |
Antonyms: |
final, last |
| 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: | indispensable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | necessary |
Synonyms: |
basal, basic, cardinal, crucial, essential, fundamental, imperative, key, necessitous, needed, needful, prerequisite, primary, required, requisite, vital |
Antonyms: |
dispensable, needless, nonessential, redundant, superfluous, unnecessary |
| Main Entry: | material |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | important, relevant |
Synonyms: |
ad rem, applicable, applicative, apposite, apropos, big, cardinal, consequential, considerable, essential, fundamental, germane, grave, indispensable, intrinsic, key, meaningful, momentous, pertinent, pointful, primary, serious, significant, substantial, vital, weighty |
Antonyms: |
immaterial, irrelevant, unimportant, unsubstantial |