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Webster 1913 Edition


Crucial

Cru′cial

(kr?′shal)
,
Adj.
[F.
crucial
, fr. L.
crux
,
crucis
, cross, torture. See
Cross
.]
1.
Having the form of a cross; appertaining to a cross; cruciform; intersecting;
as,
crucial
ligaments; a
crucial
incision
.
2.
Severe; trying or searching, as if bringing to the cross; decisive;
as, a
crucial
test
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Crucial

CRUCIAL

,
Adj.
[L., a cross.] In surgery, transverse; passing across; intersecting; in form of a cross; as crucial incision.

Definition 2024


crucial

crucial

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.
  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

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