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fundamental

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fundamental different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of fundamental are cardinal, essential, and vital. While all these words mean "so important as to be indispensable," fundamental applies to something that is a foundation without which an entire system or complex whole would collapse.

fundamental principles of algebra

When might cardinal be a better fit than fundamental?

The words cardinal and fundamental can be used in similar contexts, but cardinal suggests something on which an outcome turns or depends.

a cardinal rule in buying a home

When would essential be a good substitute for fundamental?

Although the words essential and fundamental have much in common, essential implies belonging to the very nature of a thing and therefore being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character.

conflict is essential in drama

When could vital be used to replace fundamental?

The words vital and fundamental are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vital suggests something that is necessary to a thing's continued existence or operation.

cut off from vital supplies

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fundamental
Adjective
Businesses thrive or fail based on market fundamentals—supply, demand, innovation, efficiency—not on the whims of a government handout. David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025 Importantly, farmland’s underlying value remains rooted in biological fundamentals: Crops continue to grow, and land productivity endures regardless of broader market cycles. Artem Milinchuk, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Noun
The concerns are about more than just finding pieces of things For the Anishinaabeg – which include the Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi – burials have been fundamental to their way of life for thousands of years, and deeply tied to the waters flowing through the Straits of Mackinac. Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 3 July 2025 Still, there are reasons to be skeptical about the future of AI when current models still routinely hallucinate basic facts, show fundamental issues when attempting reasoning, and struggle with basic tasks like beating a children’s video game. ArsTechnica, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for fundamental
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fundamental
Adjective
  • The petals of flowers will change depending on how basic or acidic the soil is.
    Dr. Nick Goltz, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2025
  • Sophisticated mathematical models coexist with surprisingly basic tools.
    Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
Noun
  • Gödel showed that any system of axioms in mathematics permits the formulation of statements that can’t be shown to be true or false.
    Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025
  • Zermelo developed nine simple axioms, that is, unproven basic assumptions, on which everything is based in math.
    Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • And the film has stood the test of time, capturing the essence of America's early space program for posterity.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2025
  • Those forecasts are based on the idea that many U.S. stocks are overpriced, in essence, and trading above their real value.
    Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • Unlike the predictable drawers that pull out, this style slides out to the side, so pulling out paper clips feels more like an event than a rudimentary task.
    Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 30 June 2025
  • Chávez even lost in 2021 to Anderson Silva, the former UFC champion and rudimentary boxer who lost a one-sided ring decision to Paul one year later.
    Greg Beacham, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025
Noun
  • But, of course, seeing one of our best musical comediennes so deliciously live out the maxim that all is vanity is especially a treat for Hilty heads who’ve longed to see her in a Broadway production that lives up to the title of her former TV series.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 19 Apr. 2025
  • La Fontaine’s focus on animals and penchant for moral maxims must have immediately attracted her.
    Susan Gubar June 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Noun
  • The Spanish also had a problem when two tropical storms happened on the same day, however.
    Tom Brown, Space.com, 29 June 2025
  • But the most common approach to generating speech relied on synthesizing it from text, which led straight into another problem with BCI systems: very high latency.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • What To Know The growing resistance to phones on school grounds has been burgeoning since Florida enacted statewide changes in elementary and middle schools in 2023.
    Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
  • Queen, an elementary schooler at the time, preferred to play at Goldilocks, another neighborhood court five blocks away.
    Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
Noun
  • Additionally, looser rules can also lead to more loan growth and new investments in growing lines of businesses since firms don't have to be quite as conservative with their capital.
    Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 30 June 2025
  • The charitable event, which launched in 2006 as an offshoot of the 24 Hour Plays project, has strict rules.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 30 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fundamental.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fundamental. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.

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