pivotal

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Of great importance because everything else depends on it or changes direction around it.

   Grammar: Can come before a noun or after 'be': a pivotal moment; it was pivotal.

   Patterns

   • pivotal to something
   • pivotal in something
   • a pivotal role

   The goal was pivotal to the team's victory.

   She played a pivotal role in the peace talks.

   The meeting proved pivotal in changing the company's plans.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nountechnical

   Relating to or working as a pivot, the point on which something turns.

   Grammar: Literal and rare: a pivotal bearing.

   Patterns

   • a pivotal point

   The machine has a pivotal joint in its arm.

   A pivotal axis lets the door swing both ways.

   The bearing is fixed at a pivotal point.

Word forms

Common combinations

pivotal role

Teachers play a pivotal role in a child's life.

pivotal moment

That match was a pivotal moment in her career.

pivotal figure

He was a pivotal figure in the movement.

pivotal decision

The pivotal decision was made in 1998.

prove pivotal

The evidence proved pivotal in the trial.

Synonyms and how they differ

crucial

Crucial emphasizes necessity, while pivotal emphasizes turning the direction of events.

key

Key is plainer and shorter and doesn't suggest a turning point.

central

Central stresses being at the middle, not changing the outcome.

decisive

Decisive means settling the outcome, whereas pivotal means everything turns around it.

Opposites

Word family

pivot noun

the point on which something turns

pivot verb

to turn on a fixed point or change direction

pivotally adverb

in a pivotal way (rare)

Commonly confused: pivotal or pivotable?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pivotal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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