pivotal

P3I1V4O1T1A1L1
UK/ˈpɪvɪtəl/UK/ˈpɪvətəl/Australia, Canada, US[ˈpɪvɪɾəl]Australia, Canada, US[ˈpɪvəɾəl]

adjective

Of, relating to, or being a pivot.

Similar
polarcrucialimportant
OriginProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← English pivot →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

adjectivepivotal (comparative more pivotal, superlative most pivotal)

comparative more pivotal · superlative most pivotal

  1. Of, relating to, or being a pivot.
  2. figurativelyBeing of crucial importance; central, key.

    "Crucially, HS2 is already playing a pivotal role in helping Britain's post-pandemic economic recovery.

    2021 January 13, “Packham initiates new petition opposing HS2”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 12
    1 more example

    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 […].

    2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19

    Synonyms: polar

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveBeing of crucial importance; central, key.

Similar
polar

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivebeing of crucial importance

Similar
polarcrucialimportant
Also see
bigcrucialearnestessentialfatefraughtfatefulfatesomegraveimportantnoticeableominousparamountpolartop of mindvital

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishpivot
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  4. Englishpivotal

From pivot + -al.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian осов, опорен
  • осов (osov)of, relating to, or being a pivot
  • опорен (oporen)of, relating to, or being a pivot
  • централен (centralen)being of crucial importance; central, key
  • основен (osnoven)being of crucial importance; central, key
Dutch cruciaal, doorslaggevend
  • cruciaalbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • doorslaggevendbeing of crucial importance; central, key
Finnish keskeinen, ratkaiseva
  • keskeinenbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • ratkaisevabeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • käänteentekeväbeing of crucial importance; central, key
French central, crucial
  • centralbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • crucialbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • déterminantbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • essentielbeing of crucial importance; central, key
German entscheidend, ausschlaggebend
  • entscheidendbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • ausschlaggebendbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • Dreh-being of crucial importance; central, key
  • Zapfen-being of crucial importance; central, key
  • Angel-being of crucial importance; central, key
  • Zentral-being of crucial importance; central, key
  • Schlüssel-being of crucial importance; central, key
  • Kardinal-being of crucial importance; central, key
Greek αξονικός, καθοριστικός
  • αξονικός (axonikós)of, relating to, or being a pivot
  • καθοριστικός (kathoristikós)being of crucial importance; central, key
  • σημαντικός (simantikós)being of crucial importance; central, key
  • καίριος (kaírios)being of crucial importance; central, key
Italian cruciale, fondamentale
  • crucialebeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • fondamentalebeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • centralebeing of crucial importance; central, key
Polish sworzniowy, trzpieniowy
  • sworzniowyof, relating to, or being a pivot
  • trzpieniowyof, relating to, or being a pivot
  • rdzeniowyof, relating to, or being a pivot
  • kluczowybeing of crucial importance; central, key
Portuguese pivotal, crucial
  • pivotalbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • crucialbeing of crucial importance; central, key
Russian опорный, основной
  • опорный (opornyj)of, relating to, or being a pivot
  • основной (osnovnoj)being of crucial importance; central, key
  • центральный (centralʹnyj)being of crucial importance; central, key
Spanish pivotal, crucial
  • pivotalof, relating to, or being a pivot
  • crucialbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • pivotalbeing of crucial importance; central, key
Swedish pivå-, central
  • pivå-of, relating to, or being a pivot
  • centralbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • väsentligbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • avgörandebeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • huvudsakligbeing of crucial importance; central, key
  • nyckel-being of crucial importance; central, key
Cite this entry
APA

pivotal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pivotal

MLA

“pivotal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pivotal. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pivotal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pivotal.

Source: pivotal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.