pivotal

adjective

Simple meaning

Being of crucial importance.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

pivuhtuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɪvətəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

Being of crucial importance; central, key.
Of, relating to, or being a pivot.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Being of crucial importance; central, key.

Used this way, pivotal is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Serious and weighty
Usage feel: Formal and precise

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

pivotal rolepivotal pointpivotal positionpivotal momentpivotal figurepivotal eventpivotal importancepivotal question

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Related Learning

Guides that use this word in context.

Better Words
20 Better Ways to Say “Very Important”
Stop writing “very important” and reach for a word that actually carries the weight, grouped by urgency, significance, and necessity.

Use it yourself

Knowing “pivotal” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.