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adjective
important, vital
Synonyms: capital, cardinal, chief, constitutive, crucial, foremost, fundamental, imperative, indispensable, leading, main, necessary, necessitous, needed, needful, prerequisite, principal, required, requisite, right-hand, wanted
Antonyms: accessory, auxiliary, inessential, minor, nonessential, secondary, subsidiary, unimportant
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adjective
basic, fundamental
Synonyms: absolute, basal, cardinal, cold, complete, congenital, connate, constitutional, deep-seated, elemental, elementary, ideal, inborn, inbred, inherent, innate, intrinsic, key, main, material, meat and potatoes, name of the game, nitty-gritty, nub, perfect, primary, prime, primitive, principal, quintessential, substratal, underlying
Antonyms: atypical, minor, secondary
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noun
necessity, basic
Synonyms: ABCs, bottom line, brass tacks, condition, element, essence, fire and ice, fundamental, groceries, guts, heart, meat and potatoes, must, name of the game, nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts, part and parcel, precondition, prerequisite, principle, quintessence, requirement, requisite, rudiment, sine qua non, stuff, substance, vital part, where one’s at
Antonyms: accessory, auxiliary, nonessential, subsidiary, throwaway, trivia