4 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

fundamental

adjective

1: serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure" [syn: {cardinal}, {central}, {key}, {primal}]

2: being or involving basic facts or principles; "the fundamental laws of the universe"; "a fundamental incompatibility between them"; "these rudimentary truths"; "underlying principles" [syn: {rudimentary}, {underlying}]

3: far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect especially on the nature of something; "the fundamental revolution in human values that has occurred"; "the book underwent fundamental changes"; "committed the fundamental error of confusing spending with extravagance"; "profound social changes" [syn: {profound}]

noun: the lowest tone of a harmonic series [syn: {fundamental frequency}, {first harmonic}]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Fundamental \Fun'da*men"tal\, adjective [Cf. F. fondamental.] Pertaining to the foundation or basis; serving for the foundation. Hence: Essential, as an element, principle, or law; important; original; elementary; as, a fundamental truth; a fundamental axiom.

The fundamental reasons of this war. --Shak.

Some fundamental antithesis in nature. --Whewell.

{Fundamental bass} (Mus.), the root note of a chord; a bass formed of the roots or fundamental tones of the chords.

{Fundamental chord} (Mus.), a chord, the lowest tone of which is its root.

{Fundamental colors}, red, green, and violet-blue. See {Primary colors}, under {Color}.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Fundamental \Fun"da*men'tal\, noun A leading or primary principle, rule, law, or article, which serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part, as, the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

239 Moby Thesaurus words for "fundamental": AF, ab ovo, abecedarian, aboriginal, antenatal, audio frequency, austere, autochthonous, axiom, bare, basal, base, basement, basic, basilar, basis, bearing wall, bed, bedding, bedrock, beginning, bench mark, bottom, budding, cardinal, cardinal point, center, central, chaste, chief thing, climax, component, constituent, constitutional, constitutive, core, cornerstone, creative, crisis, critical, critical point, crucial, crux, dominant, element, elemental, elementary, elements, elixir, embryonic, essence, essential, essential matter, factor, fetal, first, floor, flooring, flower, focal, focus, fond, footing, formative, foundation, foundational, frequency, fundament, fundamental tone, generative, genetic, germinal, gestatory, gist, grammar, gravamen, great point, ground, grounds, groundwork, gut, hardpan, harmonic, heart, high point, homely, homespun, homogeneous, hypostasis, important, important thing, in embryo, in its infancy, in ovo, in the bud, inaugural, inceptive, inchoate, inchoative, incipient, incunabular, indispensable, indivisible, infant, infantile, inherent, initial, initiative, initiatory, inner essence, intonation, intrinsic, introductory, inventive, irreducible, issue, kernel, keystone, landmark, law, life-and-death, life-or-death, main, main point, main thing, marrow, material, material point, meat, mere, milestone, monolithic, monotone, monotony, nascent, natal, necessary, needful, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, of a piece, of the essence, of vital importance, organic, original, overtone, paramount, part and parcel, partial, partial tone, parturient, pavement, pitch, pith, pivot, plain, postnatal, postulate, pregnant, prenatal, primal, primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, primordial, principal, principium, principle, principles, pristine, procreative, protogenic, pure, pure and simple, quid, quiddity, quintessence, quintessential, radical, real issue, requisite, riprap, rock bottom, rudiment, rudimental, rudimentary, rudiments, rule, salient point, sap, seat, seminal, severe, sill, simon-pure, simple, sine qua non, single, solid ground, solid rock, soul, spare, spirit, stark, stereobate, stuff, stylobate, substance, substantial, substantive, substantive point, substratum, substruction, substructure, terra firma, the bottom line, the nitty-gritty, the point, theorem, tone, tonelessness, turning point, unadorned, uncluttered, underbuilding, undercarriage, undergirding, underlying, underpinning, understruction, understructure, undifferenced, undifferentiated, uniform, ur, vital

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