fundamental

So important that something cannot work properly or be understood without it.

• We face a fundamental problem.
• Clean water is a fundamental human need.
• There is a fundamental difference between their views.

How to use it: fundamental to something (Trust is fundamental to a healthy relationship.)

Similar words: essential, vital, crucial

Opposites: unimportant

Common phrases: fundamental importance, fundamental right, fundamental difference

Forming the basic structure or starting point of something.

• We studied the fundamental laws of motion.
• The course introduces fundamental concepts in design.
• Their theory rests on three fundamental principles.

How to use it: fundamental to something (These concepts are fundamental to modern physics.)

Similar words: basic, foundational

Common phrases: fundamental principle, fundamental concept, fundamental structure

One of the basic ideas or skills you need to understand or do something.

• Start by learning the fundamentals.
• Good balance is a fundamental of dance.
• The course covers the fundamentals of computer programming.

How to use it: fundamentals of something (We learned the fundamentals of photography.)

Similar words: basic, principle

Common phrases: a fundamental, a key fundamental, every fundamental