Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Pivotal

Piv′ot-al

,

Adj.

Of or pertaining to a pivot or turning point; belonging to, or constituting, a pivot; of the nature of a pivot;

as, the

pivotal

opportunity of a career; the

pivotal

position in a battle.

Definition 2024

pivotal

pivotal

English

Adjective

pivotal ‎(comparative more pivotal, superlative most pivotal)

Of, relating to, or being a pivot.
Being of crucial importance; central, key.
- 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:
  It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […].

Translations

of, relating to, or being a pivot

Armenian: առանցքային (hy) ‎(aṙancʿkʿayin)
Russian: опорный (ru) ‎(opornyj)

Spanish: pivotal
Swedish: pivå-

being of crucial importance; central, key

Armenian: առանցքային (hy) ‎(aṙancʿkʿayin)
Dutch: cruciaal (nl), doorslaggevend (nl)
Finnish: keskeinen (fi), ratkaiseva (fi), käänteentekevä
French: central (fr), crucial (fr), déterminant (fr), essentiel (fr)
German: entscheidend (de), ausschlaggebend (de), Dreh- (de), Zapfen- (de), Angel- (de), Zentral- (de), Schlüssel- (de), Kardinal- (de)

Italian: cruciale (it), fondamentale (it), centrale (it)
Polish: kluczowe n
Portuguese: pivotal, crucial (pt)
Russian: основной (ru) ‎(osnovnoj), центральный (ru) ‎(centralʹnyj)
Spanish: crucial, pivotal
Swedish: central (sv), väsentlig (sv), avgörande (sv), huvudsaklig (sv), nyckel-

Portuguese

Adjective

pivotal m, f ‎(plural pivotais, comparable)

pivotal; crucial (being the most important)

Synonyms

crucial