Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of, relating to, or serving as a pivot.
- adj. Being of vital or central importance; crucial: "Its pivotal location has also exposed it to periodic invasions” ( Henry A. Kissinger).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of the nature of or forming a pivot; belonging to or constituting a pivot, or that upon which something turns or depends: as, a pivotal question; a pivotal State in an election.
Wiktionary
- adj. of, relating to, or being a pivot
- adj. being of crucial importance; central, key
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to a pivot or turning point; belonging to, or constituting, a pivot; of the nature of a pivot
WordNet 3.0
- adj. being of crucial importance
Examples
“SNOW (voice-over): Senator Joseph Lieberman thanked Hispanic clergymen for endorsing him in what he called a pivotal moment of his difficult campaign.”
“MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Joseph Lieberman thanked Hispanic clergymen for endorsing him in what he called a pivotal moment in his difficult campaign.”
“Bob Sloan, a hedge fund risk management adviser at S3 Partners, said he was riveted by the television all day to watch what he described as a pivotal point for Wall Street.”
“Yet Professor Ali Mazrui's argument that if Africa is to jumpstart its pan African integration then some countries which he calls pivotal or development states should serve as a magnet for their neighbours is still relevant.”
“By building strong statewide organizations, and by enacting popular policies that boost their party's image, governors can help their party's presidential candidate immeasurably, especially in pivotal swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Florida.”
The Wall Street Journal: Ohio, Other States Flip to GOP Governors
“Democrats risk losing a dozen governors 'chairs they now hold, including those in pivotal presidential states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine and New Mexico.”
The Huffington Post: As Democrats' Message Lags, GOP Awaits Huge Wins
“The director emphasizes, We want the audience to experience certain pivotal moments through the eyes of the characters.”
“At certain pivotal points during the book, Lussier uses a method of relaying the historical knowledge of a specific event, and then revealing the actual circumstances that took place.”
“The characters certainly are not charming nor are they in pivotal roles and some are exceedingly odd (e.g. Dave #8) but at least they are characters and not the cardboard, good/bad stereotypes that weigh down a lot of SF.”
“Although it hardly made up for two crucial bad calls in pivotal games of this and another playoff series, tonight's officiating crew actually did an excellent job.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pivotal’.
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 319 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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barrys favs...
These are the words which are used in a normal conversation...
ambivert, precarious, intriguing, intricacy, pivotal, cognizance, hindsight, back out, cliche, niche, chicane, trivial and 7 more...
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Misc. Words.
Words I like to use, words I like but may forget.
corrosion, astonish, solace, ferment, continuum, kinesthetic, permeate, repose, caprice, cardinal, discourse, surrender and 610 more...
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Rita's List of Words
preliminary, rudimentary, stance, conduit, locale, implicit, vicissitude, empirical, repository, apophthegm, apothegm, invariable and 431 more...
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adjectives
sartorial, saucy, wieldy, wuthering, dilapidated, rough-and-ready, flabbergasted, ravishing, seminal, snooty, galore, scrumptious and 386 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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_mark's list
Words I like!
( personal list, favorite words, randomness )psy, nanobot, success, smack, vibration, microcosmic, springgraph, marksmanship, estranged, homoerotic, flex, fiasco and 1707 more...
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Norman Lewis
All Words
ebullient, eccentric, eclectic, edify, efface, effusion, egalitarian, egocentric, egoist, egregious, elicit, elliptical and 907 more...
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useful vocab
pysmatic, relentless, storge, preamble, oscillate, itinerary, frolic, frolicsome, abdicate, frolicking, divergent, abnegate and 312 more...
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Caesar
Bellum Gallicum
encroach, vanquish, bid, assail, avail, surmount, coerce, discomfit, rout, noteworthy, subjugate, governance and 76 more...
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meh
latitude, swift, pivot, pivotal, formative, informative, informatory, constructive, prewind, install, digerati
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week 6
nebulous, meticulous, pivotal, ritualistic, sagacity, leniency, unscrupulously, decorously, tenaciously, anthropocentrism, serendipity, temerity and 8 more...
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important
imperative, crux, crucial, main, key, chief, major, vital, prime, core, pivotal, central and 3 more...
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40 words ELD092
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Stefano's Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pivotal.

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