Some things matter more than anything; others hardly matter at all. These words help you rank what is important, from the one thing everything depends on to the side issue that can wait.
Key idea
Very important: crucial (it decides the outcome), pivotal (everything turns on it), paramount (above all else), preeminent (best of all), salient (stands out; most noticeable). Not important: trivial, trifling (small), frivolous (silly), peripheral (at the edge) and tangential (off the point).
The ten words
Common mistake
salient means standing out, not salty. A tangential remark touches the topic and then goes off in another direction.
| word | how important? | you might hear |
|---|---|---|
| crucial | decides the outcome | a crucial moment |
| pivotal | everything turns on it | a pivotal role |
| paramount | above everything else | safety is paramount |
| preeminent | best of all in a field | the preeminent expert |
| salient | stands out, most noticeable | the salient points |
| trivial | of little importance | a trivial error |
| trifling | small, unimportant | a trifling sum |
| frivolous | silly, not serious | a frivolous purchase |
| peripheral | at the edge, minor | a peripheral issue |
| tangential | off the main point | a tangential remark |
Salient means standing out, not salty: it comes from Latin salire, to leap, so a salient point leaps out at you. And a tangential remark is like a tangent line in geometry: it touches the topic at one point and then heads off on its own.