fundamental

Adjective

• 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
    

• being or involving basic facts or principles
  • the fundamental laws of the universe
    
  • a fundamental incomatibility between them
    
  • these rudimentary truths
    
  • underlying principles
    

• 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
    

Noun

• the lowest tone of a harmonic series

• any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particular business
  • fundamentals include a company's growth, revenues, earnings, management, and capital structure
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  profound , rudimentary , underlying , cardinal , central , key , primal , fundamental frequency , first harmonic