English

Adjective

crucial ‎(comparative more crucial, superlative most crucial)

1. Being essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important.

   The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland.‎

   A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower.‎

   • 2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:

     The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.

2. (archaic) Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.
3. (slang, chiefly Jamaica) Term of approval, particularly when applied to reggae music.

   Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton.‎

Derived terms

• crucial experiment

Related terms

• cross
• crux

Translations

References

1. ↑ Novum Organum, Francis Bacon, Book Two, “Aphorisms”, Section XXXVI

French

Etymology

From a root of Latin crux.

Adjective

crucial m ‎(feminine singular cruciale, masculine plural cruciaux, feminine plural cruciales)

1. cruciform
2. crucial, critical, vital

Portuguese

Adjective

crucial m, f ‎(plural cruciais, comparable)

1. crucial

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:crucial.

Spanish

Etymology

From English crucial.

Adjective

crucial m, f ‎(plural cruciales)

1. crucial