foundational

adjective

foun·​da·​tion·​al fau̇n-ˈdā-sh(ə-)nəl 

: of, relating to, or forming or serving as a base or foundation : fundamental

foundational principles/doctrines

These foundational volumes proved to be, each in its own way, enabling gestures for the growth of sophisticated theories and critical practices in African, Caribbean, and African American literatures.

—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Property was, in a sense, foundational to culture, since English political economy rested on the private ownership of land, and the political economy, in turn, largely structured social relations.

—Jill Lepore

Philosophy is a foundational discipline. Not only does it do the spadework that makes the construction of other disciplines possible; it also pays constant attention to the foundations of those disciplines as they are practiced.

—Cognitive Science

foundationally adverb

Examples of foundational in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Every incremental advance in writing technology will accelerate progress across the entire spectrum of life science, from agriculture to pharmaceuticals, and from materials science to planetary defense; DNA synthesis is, after all, the foundational tool for engineering biology and biomanufacturing. —Big Think, 20 Oct. 2025

This relentless pursuit of excellence, instilled by his father’s high standards, forged a foundational belief that sheer will could overcome natural talent. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025

Address foundational issues with direct confrontation. —Usa Today, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025

That later became the foundational precedent for centuries of papal claims to secular authority over the papal states of the Romagna. —JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for foundational

• formational
• gestational
• gradational
• locational
• mutational
• nonrational
• notational
• relational
• rotational
• sensational
• translational
• vibrational