Fundamental

Practice This Word

Forming the essential base or core; central, foundational, and necessary for something's existence or operation.

adjective

Fundamental

Forming the essential base or core; central, foundational, and necessary for something's existence or operation.

adjective

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Imagine This

Picture a towering building under construction. The crew pours a wide, sturdy foundation first; without it, the rest of the structure would topple. The foundation is the fundamental base that makes everything else possible.

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Sounds Like

FUN-duh-MEN-tl

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Looks Like

Resembles foundation or basis; shares the fund- root related to base

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Remember This

Etymology: fundamental comes from Latin fundamentum 'base, foundation' from fundus 'bottom'. In math and science, fundamental laws or concepts are the basic building blocks you must understand first.

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Other Forms

fundamentallyadverb

fundamentalismnoun

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Connect With

foundation, basis, core, essential, underlying, cornerstone

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Note

Fundamental is more formal and indicates essential, underlying base. Do not confuse with 'basic' in casual speech; 'fundamental' emphasizes necessity and core importance. As an adjective, it can pair with 'principles', 'rights', or 'concepts'.

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Study Deeper

Examples

A strong education rests on the fundamental principle that all students deserve equal opportunity.
In physics, the fundamental laws describe how matter and energy interact.

Synonyms

essentialfoundationalbasiccoreunderlying

Antonyms

incidentalnonessentialtrivial

Etymology

From Latin fundamentum meaning 'base, foundation', derived from fundus 'bottom'; the adjective form was formed in the 15th century.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic: Fund a mental foundation.