Word meaning the most important

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Словосочетания

Автоматический перевод

важнейший, наиболее важный, самый важный, самый главный, наиболее значимый, более важный, особенно важный, наиболее существенный, главное, по значимости, по важности, по значению, наибольшее значение, важнее всего

Перевод по словам

most  — большинство, наиболее, самый, многие, наибольший
important  — важный, значительный, существенный, напыщенный, важничающий

Примеры

The most important thing is to stay calm.

Самое главное — сохранять спокойствие.

She underscored the most important points.

Она подчеркнула наиболее важные моменты.

Let me reiterate the most important points.

Позвольте мне еще раз повторить самые важные моменты.

She was the most important influence in my life.

Она оказала важнейшее влияние на мою жизнь.

He’s one of the most important scholars in his field.

Это один из самых влиятельных учёных в своей области знаний.

India is the most important outlet for British goods.

Индия — наиболее важный рынок сбыта для Англии.

The most important thing is to keep yourself occupied.

Самое главное — это чем-нибудь себя занять.

ещё 23 примера свернуть

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Collins gave the keynote speech (=most important speech).  

The actress was guest of honour (=the most important guest) at the launch.  

I’ll come straight to the point (=talk about the most important thing first).  

I think you’ve missed the point (=you have not understood the most important thing).  

The keynote speaker (=main or most important speaker) was Robert Venturi, the architect.  

Tricia topped the bill (=was the most important performer) at the Children’s Variety Show.  

Для того чтобы добавить вариант перевода, кликните по иконке , напротив примера.

I tried to find a single word that means «most important», but I couldn’t. I want it to be able to express what’s missing below:

If you get hurt, the _ thing to do is to stay calm.

It would need to describe something as being the absolute, single most important thing as opposed to just very important.

I did find the word «quintessential», but I think that word also has another meaning which is used more frequently.

I thought about making up my own, but I couldn’t find a prefix that means «most».


I feel kind of silly, but I think I have been looking for a word based on a concept that doesn’t exist in English. I was looking for a word that could never be used to describe two things as both being the most important. I think some of these words, like ‘imperative,’ express necessity as opposed to importance, but I may be wrong. The word ‘key’ expresses importance, but it, like ‘important,’ could be used to refer to multiple things. The two most important players are Sam and Ashley. The two key players are Sam and Ashley. I was thinking of a word that would describe importance as ‘best’ describes ‘goodness,’ but I’m realizing that that doesn’t really make sense because even the word ‘best,’ though I think it tends to often describe only one thing, is often used to describe two things. The two best players are Sam and Ashley.

I guess, with the superlative, if you take any adjective and put the noun it’s modifying in a singular form, it implies that that noun is the single strongest possessor of that adjective. I could just say «The important thing to do is to stay calm,» and I think that would imply that that is the single most important thing to do because the word ‘thing’ is singular.

I think the fact that the same word can be used to describe the single strongest possessor of a trait (the tallest person) and multiple strongest possessors of a trait (one of the tallest people) kind of rubs me wrong. If anyone’s curious, I was thinking of inventing the word ‘monobest’ or ‘unibest’ to mean single best. This way, you couldn’t say «one of the monobest» because ‘mono’ means one, and something can’t be both both multiple and one. Similarly, ‘monotant’ or ‘unitant’ could mean single most important (I’ve shortened the word ‘important’).

Thank you all, and sorry if this question was misleading.


На основании Вашего запроса эти примеры могут содержать грубую лексику.


На основании Вашего запроса эти примеры могут содержать разговорную лексику.

Предложения


No one factor can be singled out as the «most important



К сожалению, нет ни одного конкретного фактора, который можно назвать «самым важным».


Dr. Veech described the strangely far-reaching potential of the ketone ester as the «most important discovery since penicillin.»



Доктор Вич назвал этот многообещающий потенциал кетонов «самым важным открытием после пенициллина».


The dual-camera setup, according to Kuo, will be the «most important upgrade» in the Galaxy Note 8.



По утверждению Куо, двойная камера будет «самым важным обновлением» в Note 8.


Breakfast was made the «most important meal of the day,» by two Seventh-day Adventists who wanted to sell their newly invented breakfast cereal.



Двое Адвентистов Седьмого дня сделали завтрак «самым важным приемом пищи», так как хотели выгоднее продать свои хлопья для завтрака.


Lord Stern described the summit as the «most important gathering since the second world war, given what is at stake».



Ведущий британский климатический экономист сэр Николас Стерн назвал это событие «самым важным собранием со времен Второй мировой войны, учитывая то, что поставлено на карту».


Your wedding should be the «happiest» day of your life, the «most important» day of your life, the «biggest» day, and so on.



Твоя свадьба должна быть «самым счастливым днем в твоей жизни», «самым важным днем твоей жизни», «самым в…


Therefore the Eucharist is not only the «most important» of all the offices, it is also source and goal of the entire liturgical life of the Church.



Следовательно, Евхаристия является не только «самым важным» из всех таинств, но также источником и целью всей литургической жизни Церкви.


Now, Google won’t exactly say link building is the «most important» factor, but they’ve gone on record to tell us that it is one of the most important three.



На данный момент Google прямо не говорит, что линкбилдинг является «самым важным» фактором в ранжировании сайтов, но упоминает, что это один из самых важных факторов.


Highlight the «most important cigarette of the day», so that you can later refuse exactly this one.



Выделите «самую важную сигарету дня», чтобы затем отказаться именно от нее.


Right away I will bring clarity about the «most important question» from this quote.



Сразу же внесу ясность по «важнейшему вопросу» из этой цитаты.


Take the «most important art» — movie.


According to him, «significant» funds should go to the «most important areas» for the residents of each individual territory.



По словам Медведева, «значительные» средства должны пойти на «самые важные направления» для жителей каждой отдельной территории.


He said that customer satisfaction is the «most important criterion» Apple uses in measuring its own success.



Он подчеркнул, что удовлетворенность клиентов является «наиболее важным критерием» из числа используемых Apple для оценки собственного успеха.


It includes five of what the bank considers the «most important» risks associated with digital currencies for Albania.



Были названы пять пунктов, которые банк посчитал «самыми важными» рисками цифровых валют для Албании.


Nor does it mean you only speak to the «most important» people at an event and ignore anyone else when they approach you.



Но это не означает и того, что вы должны на мероприятиях общаться только с самыми важными людьми, игнорируя других участников, когда они подходят к вам.


At the very beginning, or even before learning a foreign language, it directs the students to the «most important task».



Она в самом начале, а иногда ещё до изучения иностранного языка, нацеливает учащихся на «сверхзадачу».


Let’s try to identify the «most important (key) technical innovations in software», and see which ones Microsoft created.



Ну что ж, давайте попробуем определить понятие «наиболее важные (ключевые) технические нововведения в области программного обеспечения» и увидеть, автором каких из них является Microsoft.


However, if this is not possible, or person wants to take vitamins individually, they should start with the «most important» among the listed.



Однако если такой возможности нет, или человек хочет принимать витамины по отдельности, то следует начать с «наиболее важных» среди перечисленных.

Ничего не найдено для этого значения.

Предложения, которые содержат the «most important

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most important — перевод на русский

Right now, the most important matter is to deal with Gim Bong Gu as earliest as possible.

Сейчас самое важное… быстрее упрятать за решетку Ким Бон Гу.

The most important thing to remember is, we’ve got one shot at this.

Самое важное, что нам нужно уяснить, у нас есть всего одна попытка.

This is the most important request of my life.

Это самое важное желание в моей жизни.

Listen, Carrot-top, the most important thing in a relationship is understanding, harmony.

Слушай, Рыжик, самое важное в отношениях это понимание, гармония.

I haven’t come to the most important thing yet.

О, нет, я ведь ещё не успел сказать вам самое важное!

Показать ещё примеры для «самое важное»…

«The most important thing is missing — a young wife…»

Однако у тебя отсутствует самое главное — молодая жена.

I forgot the most important thing.

Я забыл самое главное.

That’s the most important thing, no?

Ведь это самое главное, да?

The most important thing is to find oneself.

Самое главное — найти себя.

«But most important of all, I’m building.»

Но, самое главное, я строю.

Показать ещё примеры для «самое главное»…

This is one of the most important moments in your life.

Это — один из наиболее важных моментов в вашей жизни.

One of the most important tools of the technique are the scissors.

Один из наиболее важных инструментов техники силуэтов — ножницы

Before we finished adjusting you I made sure we planted Asimov’s two most important rules in your mind:

Перед тем, как мы завершили вашу регулировку, я постарался внедрить два наиболее важных закона Азимова в ваш разум.

Pauli took Bohr’s bizarre «quantum jumps» idea and turned it into one of the most important concepts in the whole of science.

ѕаули прин€л идею Ѕора странных «квантовых скачков» и превратил их в одно из наиболее важных пон€тий во всей науке.

The speed of light is one of the most important speed limits… in the entire universe.

скорость света является одной из наиболее важных скоростей ограничения во вселенной.

Показать ещё примеры для «наиболее важных»…

— But I’m standing at the threshold of one of the most important moments of my life here.

— Но я стою на пороге одного из важнейших моментов своей жизни.

Reliability is one of the most important parts of yourjob.

Надёжность это одна из важнейших частей Вашей работы.

This is one of the most important documents in history.

Это один из важнейших документов в истории.

Butters, helping people who have AIDS is one of the most important things you can do.

-Баттерс, помогать больным СПИДом — это одна из важнейших вещей, которые ты можешь сделать.

This is kind of the most important thing that’s ever happened to us.

Это одна из важнейших вещей которая когда-либо случалась с нами

Показать ещё примеры для «из важнейших»…

Most important.

Очень важно.

That is most important thing.

Это очень важно.

I’m sorry to intrude like this, Mr. Van Ryn, but it’s most important.

Извините, что я мешаю, мистер ван Райн, но это очень важно. — Да?

Will you go to club and see if he’s there? It’s most important.

Прошу, узнайте, не там ли он, — это очень важно.

The most important thing to remember is when you stop, put your trailer brakes on, or you’ll jackknife.

Очень важно помнить: тормозить трейлер первым, а то сложишься.

Показать ещё примеры для «очень важно»…

The Ori have a greater understanding of the universe, but most importantly, they are willing to share it with us.

Орай больше понимают о вселенной, но что более важно, они желают поделиться этим с вами.

had developed a limited ability to speak, and most importantly, the ability to reason

У них развились ограниченные навыки речи и, что более важно, мышления.

The resulting list is surprising, controversial and certain to be challenged but, most importantly, it’s based not on myth but science.

Образующийся список удивителен, вызывает сомнения и бесспорно может быть оспорен но, что более важно, он основан не на мифах, а на науке.

I would say that the huge backlash that followed that had to do with the fear on the part of the powers that be. That if enough people went into those realms, had those experiences the very fabric of the society we have today would be picked apart and most importantly, those in power at the top would not be in power at the top any more.

Я сказал бы, что следовала обратная реакция, причиной которой был страх власть имущих, что если достаточное количество людей соприкоснется с этим и приобретет трансцендентный опыт, само общество претерпит коренные изменения и что более важно, люди находящиеся у власти потеряют ее.

I don’t want a giant bloody man in the bar scaring the customers, and most importantly, me!

Я не хочу, чтобы в баре стоял гигантский окровавленный мужик пугал клиентов, и, что более важно, меня. — Видел, Фрэнк?

Показать ещё примеры для «что более важно»…

To a Magus, what’s most important isn’t their life.

Для Волшебника жизнь — не самая важная вещь.

Perhaps most importantly of all…

Возможно самая важная вещь…

It’s the most important thingthere is -— love,finding the right personto spend your life with.

Это самая важная вещь, которая есть. Любовь. Найти правильного человека, с которым провести жизнь.

But the single most important rule is the four A’s:

Но самая важная вещь — это три «П»

What’s most important in TV shows are the reactions captured during the show.

Самая важная вещь при съёмках любого телешоу.

Показать ещё примеры для «самая важная вещь»…

I never thought my fear and hiding would cause the loss of the most important friend in my life

я однажды потеряю… своего самого дорогого дрyга!

The pain and rage of being thrown away without explanation, losing the most important thing in his life.

Хочу, чтобы они прошли через то же, что и я: боль, изгнание без веских причин, потерю самого дорогого в жизни.

He betrayed what’s most important: friendship!

Он предал самое дорогое — дружбу!

Why can’t you understand that they’ll come back on their own? That’s the most important part.

— Как вы не можете понять, что они сами вернутся, и это дороже всего.

You’re the most important person in my life.

Ты самый дорогой мне человек.

Показать ещё примеры для «самого дорогого»…

Most important, how on God’s green earth… it got into Congressman Albert’s hotel room.

Но больше всего, я хочу знать, как он оказался в номере конгрессмена.

We’ll have everything here, lot of money and tourists, but do you know what will be the most important?

Здесь всё будет — много денег, много туристов. И знаешь, чего будет больше всего, Карес?

They’ll run more tests at the rehab, but the most important thing right now is she needs to rest.

Ей нужно будет сдать много анализов в реабилитационном центре, Но сейчас больше всего ей нужно отдохнуть.

Rest and taking good care of yourself are the most important.

Больше отдыхайте.

Ladies and gentlemen, possibly the most important scientific discovery… of the last century. The chromosome.

Леди и джентельмены, возможно самым большим открытием последнего века является открытие хромосомы.

Показать ещё примеры для «больше всего»…

I needed to feel like the most important man in the world, and you’re the only person who can do that for me.

Я хотел почувствовать себя самым значимым человеком на свете, и ты единственный человек, способный сделать это для меня.

They are the most important people in Gaozu’s life!

Они принадлежат самым значимым людям в жизни Гао-цзу.

In the last series, we talked about a car which we said would be the most important one for 100 years.

¬ последней серии мы говорили об автомобиле, который как мы сказали, будет самый значимый в течение 100 лет.

That makes it the perfect place to test the most important car since the car was invented.

Ёто делает его прекрасным местом, чтобы протестировать самый значимый автомобиль, с момента изобретени€ первого авто.

(Cameraman) Tell me about the most important people in your life.

Расскажите о самых значимых людях в вашей жизни.

Показать ещё примеры для «самым значимым»…

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Смотрите также

  • самое важное
  • самое главное
  • наиболее важных
  • из важнейших
  • очень важно
  • что более важно
  • самая важная вещь
  • самого дорогого
  • больше всего
  • самым значимым
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WordReference can’t find this exact phrase, but click on each word to see its meaning:

We could not find the full phrase you were looking for.
The entry for «important» is displayed below.

Also see: most

WordReference Random House Learner’s Dictionary of American English © 2023

im•por•tant /ɪmˈpɔrtnt/USA pronunciation  
adj. 

  1. of much or great effect, significance, or consequence:an important event in history.[It + be + ~ + that clause]It’s important that you understand our position.
  2. of great distinction, rank, or power:an important scientist.

im•por•tant•ly, adv.  : She works well with others, but more importantly, her record is the best in the company.See -port-.

    important is an adjective, importance is a noun:You missed a very important meeting. Was anything of importance discussed there?


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2023

im•por•tant 
(im pôrtnt),USA pronunciation adj. 

  1. of much or great significance or consequence:an important event in world history.
  2. mattering much (usually fol. by to):details important to a fair decision.
  3. entitled to more than ordinary consideration or notice:an important exception.
  4. prominent or large:He played an important part in national politics.
  5. of considerable influence or authority, as a person or position:an important scientist.
  6. having social position or distinction, as a person or family:important guests.
  7. pompous;
    pretentious:When speaking, he assumes an important attitude that offends his audience.
  8. [Obs.]importunate.
  • Medieval Latin important- (stem of importāns present participle of importāre to be of consequence, weigh, Latin: to carry in, import), equivalent. to im- im1 + port- port5 + -ant-ant; see import
  • 1580–90

im•portant•ly, adv. 

    Both more important and more importantly occur at the beginning of a sentence in all varieties of standard English:More important (or More importantly), her record as an administrator is unmatched. Today, more importantly is the more common, even though some object to its use on the grounds that more important is an elliptical form of «What is more important» and that the adverb importantly could not occur in such a construction. More importantly probably developed by analogy with other sentence-modifying adverbs, as curiously, fortunately, and regrettably.


Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

important /ɪmˈpɔːtənt/ adj

  1. of great significance or value; outstanding
  2. of social significance; notable; eminent; esteemed: an important man in the town
  3. (when postpositive,) usually followed by to: specially relevant or of great concern (to); valued highly (by): your wishes are important to me

Etymology: 16th Century: from Old Italian importante, from Medieval Latin importāre to signify, be of consequence, from Latin: to carry in; see import

imˈportantly adv USAGE
The use of more importantly as in more importantly, the local council is opposed to this proposal has become very common, but many people still prefer to use more important

most important‘ also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

Примеры из текстов

It is precisely this “shortening and lessening the birth-pangs” that, in our opinion, constitutes one of the most important tasks of socialists who are convinced of the “historical inevitability of capitalism in Russia”.

В этом «сокращении и облегчении мучений родов» и состоит, по нашему мнению, одна из важнейших задач социалистов, убедившихся в «исторической неизбежности капитализма в России».

Плеханов, Г. В. / Наши разногласия. Письмо к П. Л. ЛавровуPlekhanov, G. V. / Our Differences. Letter to P. L. Lavrov

Our Differences. Letter to P. L. Lavrov

Plekhanov, G. V.

Наши разногласия. Письмо к П. Л. Лаврову

Плеханов, Г. В.

© Государственное издательство политической литературы, 1949 г.

The primary key is the most important for two reasons: Its value identifies a specific record throughout the entire database, and its field identifies a given table throughout the entire database.

Первичный ключ является наиболее важным из всех по двум причинам: его значение идентифицирует конкретную запись из всей базы данных, а его поле идентифицирует указанную таблицу во всей базе данных.

Viescas, John L.,Hernandez, Michael J. / SQL queries for mere mortals: a hands-on guide to data manipulation in SQLВьескас, Джон Л.,Хернандес, Майкл Дж. / SQL-запросы для простых смертных: Практическое руководство по манипулированию данными в SQL

SQL-запросы для простых смертных: Практическое руководство по манипулированию данными в SQL

Вьескас, Джон Л.,Хернандес, Майкл Дж.

© Издательство «Лори», 2003

© 2000 by Michael J. Hernandez and John L. Viescas

SQL queries for mere mortals: a hands-on guide to data manipulation in SQL

Viescas, John L.,Hernandez, Michael J.

© 2008 Pearson Education, Inc.

Among them is the International Investment Forum, which has become the most important place to connect those who wish to conduct business in Russia.

Один из них — Международный инвестиционный форум, ставший важнейшим местом встречи для тех, кто желает вести бизнес в России.

Section 2 introduces the most important classes of matroids: vector spaces, graphs, transversal systems, and incidence geometries.

В разд. 2 вводятся наиболее важные классы матроидов: векторные пространства, графы, системы трансверсалей и геометрии инцидентности.

Aigner, Martin / Combinatorial TheoryАйгнер, Мартин / Комбинаторная теория

Комбинаторная теория

Айгнер, Мартин

© 1979 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

© Перевод на русский язык, «Мир», 1982

Combinatorial Theory

Aigner, Martin

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1997

They are important but, by no means, the most important.

Они важны, но отнюдь не самые важные.

Lowndes, Leil / How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with YouЛаундес, Лейл / Как влюбить в себя любого

Как влюбить в себя любого

Лаундес, Лейл

© Leil Lowndes, 1996

© «Добрая книга», 2001 — Перевод и оформление

How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You

Lowndes, Leil

© 1995 by Debra McCarthy-Anderson and Carol Bruce-Thomas

© 1996 by Leil Lowndes

That is never done with us, unless on great occasions, and I consider this night as the most important of my life.

Это делается у нас только в особых случаях, а я считаю, что сегодняшняя ночь самая значительная в моей жизни.

Cooper, James Fenimore / The DeerslayerКупер, Джеймс Фенимор / Зверобой, или Первая тропа войны

Зверобой, или Первая тропа войны

Купер, Джеймс Фенимор

© Издательство «Детская литература», 1974

The Deerslayer

Cooper, James Fenimore

© Wordsworth Editions Limited 1995

European Council considers this process as one of the most important Russian reforms over the last 15 years.

В Совете Европы этот процесс рассматривают как одну из важнейших российских реформ за последние 15 лет.

He believes that he’s the most important man in Ulgo just now.

Себя он почитает самым важным человеком в Алголанде.

Eddings, David / Magician’s GambitЭддингс, Дэвид / В поисках камня

В поисках камня

Эддингс, Дэвид

Magician’s Gambit

Eddings, David

Children are capable of giving advice in the most important matters.

Большие не знают, что ребенок даже в самом трудном деле может дать чрезвычайно важный совет.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor / IdiotДостоевский, Фёдор / Идиот

Идиот

Достоевский, Фёдор

© Издательство «Художественная литература», 1971

Idiot

Dostoevsky, Fyodor

© 2004 by Fine Creative Media, Inc.

Within a fairly short period of time, maybe two or three years, this simple procedure will tell people first where their strengths are—and this is probably the most important thing to know about oneself.

За два-три года с помощью анализа результатов можно получить полную информацию о своих сильных сторонах, а это, наверное, самое важное из того, что должен знать о себе каждый человек.

Drucker, Peter F. / The Essential DruckerДрукер, Питер Ф. / Энциклопедия менеджмента

Энциклопедия менеджмента

Друкер, Питер Ф.

© Издательский дом «Вильямс», 2004

© Peter F. Drucker, 2001

The Essential Drucker

Drucker, Peter F.

© 2001 by Peter F. Drucker

When I was just learning how to write.» A pause, and then he gave what Roland supposed was, for him, the most important way of marking time, a thing that was different for every man: «When I was still drinking.»

Когда я только учился писать, — пауза, и вот тут, по мнению Роланда, Кинг назвал главный ориентир, позволяющий определить какой‑либо временной период, индивидуальный для каждого. — Когда я еще пил.

King, Stephen / The Dark tower 7: The Dark TowerКинг, Стивен / Темная башня 7: Темная башня

Темная башня 7: Темная башня

Кинг, Стивен

© Stephen King, 2004

© Перевод. В.А.Вебер, 2005

© ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2005

The Dark tower 7: The Dark Tower

King, Stephen

But of that later, though that’s the most important thing, of that later.

Это хоть и самое главное, но это потом.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor / The brothers KaramazovДостоевский, Фёдор / Братья Карамазовы

Братья Карамазовы

Достоевский, Фёдор

© Издательство «Художественная литература», 1988

The brothers Karamazov

Dostoevsky, Fyodor

That’s the most important thing!

Это самое главное!

Akunin, Boris / The State CounsellorАкунин, Борис / Статский советник

Статский советник

Акунин, Борис

© B. Akunin, автор, 1999

© И. Захаров, издатель, 1999

The State Counsellor

Akunin, Boris

The Krasnodar Region is one of the most important regions in Russia.

Краснодарский край — один из наиболее значимых регионов России.

© 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers

© 2010-2011 PwC

© 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers

© 2010-2011 PwC

It is one of the most important ideas in this book.

Это одна из самых важных идей нашей книги!

Brealey, Richard,Myers, Stewart / Principles of Corporate FinanceБрейли, Ричард,Майерс, Стюарт / Принципы корпоративных финансов

Принципы корпоративных финансов

Брейли, Ричард,Майерс, Стюарт

© 2003, 2000, 1996, 1991, 1988, 1984, 1981 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© ЗАО «Олимп-Бизнес», перевод на рус. яз., оформление, 2004

Principles of Corporate Finance

Brealey, Richard,Myers, Stewart

© The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2003

English Language & Usage Asked by Temme on October 25, 2020

I tried to find a single word that means “most important”, but I couldn’t. I want it to be able to express what’s missing below:

If you get hurt, the _ thing to do is to stay calm.

It would need to describe something as being the absolute, single most important thing as opposed to just very important.

I did find the word “quintessential”, but I think that word also has another meaning which is used more frequently.

I thought about making up my own, but I couldn’t find a prefix that means “most”.


I feel kind of silly, but I think I have been looking for a word based on a concept that doesn’t exist in English. I was looking for a word that could never be used to describe two things as both being the most important. I think some of these words, like ‘imperative,’ express necessity as opposed to importance, but I may be wrong. The word ‘key’ expresses importance, but it, like ‘important,’ could be used to refer to multiple things. The two most important players are Sam and Ashley. The two key players are Sam and Ashley. I was thinking of a word that would describe importance as ‘best’ describes ‘goodness,’ but I’m realizing that that doesn’t really make sense because even the word ‘best,’ though I think it tends to often describe only one thing, is often used to describe two things. The two best players are Sam and Ashley.

I guess, with the superlative, if you take any adjective and put the noun it’s modifying in a singular form, it implies that that noun is the single strongest possessor of that adjective. I could just say “The important thing to do is to stay calm,” and I think that would imply that that is the single most important thing to do because the word ‘thing’ is singular.

I think the fact that the same word can be used to describe the single strongest possessor of a trait (the tallest person) and multiple strongest possessors of a trait (one of the tallest people) kind of rubs me wrong. If anyone’s curious, I was thinking of inventing the word ‘monobest’ or ‘unibest’ to mean single best. This way, you couldn’t say “one of the monobest” because ‘mono’ means one, and something can’t be both both multiple and one. Similarly, ‘monotant’ or ‘unitant’ could mean single most important (I’ve shortened the word ‘important’).

Thank you all, and sorry if this question was misleading.

16 Answers

In the context If you get hurt, the — thing to do is to stay calm, you can use key.

In other contexts, prime, preeminent, or vital can be used.

Answered by andy256 on October 25, 2020

Answered by Elian on October 25, 2020

How about crucial: «Extremely significant or important: a crucial problem; vital to the resolution of a crisis; decisive.»

critical: Indispensable; essential.

essential: Basic or indispensable; necessary

vital: necessary to the continuation of life; life-sustaining:

It was critical that he stop them for if he did not the battle was sure to be lost.

Answered by anongoodnurse on October 25, 2020

foremost would fit.

adv. So as to be most important.

adj., adv. first in place, rank, importance, etc

There is the phrase «first and foremost» also, that emphasizes this:

first to be dealt with and most important.

First and foremost, I think you should work harder on your biology. Have this in mind first and foremost: Keep smiling!


Note: You can check example usages in Google Books as well.

Answered by ermanen on October 25, 2020

If you get hurt, the primary thing to do is to stay calm. Also foremost or paramount.

Answered by Spehro Pefhany on October 25, 2020

The area to explore here begins at the word superlative..

..a word which is often used as the title of awards given to groups of people at era ends, such as at the end of high school for yearbook purposes; in that context, «superlative» awards may contain categories such as «most likely to succeed» or «best hair» or «least likely to harm a fly» etcetera.

Basically, the ideation implied by superlative involves seeking out, for purposes of identification, the most extreme end of a spectrum involving two trivial opposites such as tall and short or desirable and undesirable.

All other answers supplied began at this concept and ended with a trivial selection by the author of the response.

Answered by miercoledi on October 25, 2020

I would go with BEST.

If you get hurt, the best thing to do is to stay calm.

But also, PRINCIPAL, MAIN, or INDISPENSABLE could work.

If you get hurt, the principal thing to do is to stay calm.

If you get hurt, the main thing to do is to stay calm.

If you get hurt, the indispensable thing to do is to stay calm.

Answered by GMB on October 25, 2020

You could use crux of the matter to be a little fancy.

But I would just go with number one.

Answered by RyeɃreḁd on October 25, 2020

Imperative.

It is imperative that you stay calm.

Answered by drunkenwagoner on October 25, 2020

Thought someone would have put this, but the first word that came into my head was «priority».

Priority

highest or higher in importance, rank, privilege, etc.: a priority task.

Answered by Adsy on October 25, 2020

I can’t yet comment, or upvote, but the single best answer is imperative.

Imperative.

It is imperative that you stay calm.

as suggested by drukenwagoner.

Quintessential is normally used to define something as representing the ‘purest’ form, e.g. «quintessentially evil»

Critical (medica) is a strong contender, as a thing that is critical must be done before anything else, otherwise the following actions will fail, though usually associated with an action, not a state of mind.

First (Nourished Gourmet) and foremost (Spehro Pefhany) are both ordinal statements, indicating that a transient step should be taken, where as the state of mind referenced by the OP is a persistent theme.

Crux of the matter doesn’t fit as the OP is not trying to produce a clarifying statement of a convoluted argument or conversation, there is no «point» to be restated for clarity.

Indispensable is a statement of necessity not importance. Things can be indispensable yet trivial, due to their availability.

My own suggestion would be vital, as in «it is vital your organs remain connected and inside your body».

Answered by Sensillium on October 25, 2020

Imperative — of vital importance, crucial

Answered by Merin Nakarmi on October 25, 2020

If you get hurt, the _ thing to do is to stay calm.

Most important and best are both superlatives, the fact that the former consists of two words does not lessen its greatest in quality. Nothing else which may be suggested is more important than staying calm. On the other hand, «monobest» as you described it

I was thinking of inventing the word ‘monobest’ or ‘unibest’ to mean
single best. This way, you couldn’t say «one of the monobest» because
‘mono’ means one, and something can’t be both both multiple and one.

might be potentially harmful.
Imagine being seriously injured, «the «monobest» thing is to keep calm«, mono- implies that nothing else is necessary, the act of staying calm is the one thing to do. Why do anything else afterwards? Instead, there might be several things one could do in a similar situation; call an ambulance, bandage the wound, place an ice pack on the injury and so on.

You do not want to exclude other courses of actions, there has to be a list of some sorts. In other words, because the superlative form, most important, is used for comparing one thing with every other thing in that group, it fits perfectly well in your sentence.

Answered by Mari-Lou A on October 25, 2020

Good suggestions here already, especially «critical», «paramount», «foremost», and «primary» IMHO.
I’d just like to add «pivotal» to the growing list.

#piv·ot·al
/ˈpivətl/
adjective

  1. of crucial importance in relation to the development or success of something else.
    «the alliance that played a pivotal role in the revolution»
    synonyms: central, crucial, vital, critical, focal, essential, key, decisive
    «Japan’s pivotal role in the world economy»

«Pivotal» appeals to the mechanical, physical sense of a rotational axis, which occupies a single point. Around this point, parts may connect that are otherwise independently mobile, or a rotating body’s center of mass may exist. Thus the word implies a sort of unique, decisive importance that isn’t value-laden or hyperbolic, but rather neutral and pragmatic.

As such, it might even sound a little unnatural in your intended context:

If you get hurt, the pivotal thing to do is to stay calm.

Yet this matter-of-fact sensibility might be useful, especially if you wish to make a clear and practical point without appealing to emotion, as with more positive or alarming alternatives.
It seems that emotional arousal is the problem at hand, after all.

Answered by Nick Stauner on October 25, 2020

In the context, and digging deeper into what makes one thing more important than the other, consider ‘vital’.

Answered by Leon Conrad on October 25, 2020

Colloquial and short, but I think «top» would do very nicely

Answered by LinkDinkin on October 25, 2020

Add your own answers!

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