being or involving basic facts or principles; "the fundamental laws of the universe"; "a fundamental incomatibility between them"; "these rudimentary truths"; "underlying principles"
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"
some situation or event that is thought about; "he kept drifting off the topic"; "he had been thinking about the subject for several years"; "it is a matter for the police"
the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"
a single whole grain of a cereal; "a kernel of corn"
the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone; "black walnut kernels are difficult to get out of the shell"
a small margin; "the president was not humbled by his narrow margin of victory"; "the landslide he had in the electoral college obscured the narrowness of a victory based on just 43% of the popular vote"
being of crucial importance; "a pivotal event"; "Its pivotal location has also exposed it to periodic invasions"- Henry Kissinger; "the polar events of this study"; "a polar principal"
inside or closer to the inside of the body; "the inner ear"
located inward; "Beethoven's manuscript looks like a bloody record of a tremendous inner battle"- Leonard Bernstein; "she thinks she has no soul, no interior life, but the truth is that she has no access to it"- David Denby; "an internal sense of rightousness"- A.R.Gurney,Jr.
innermost or essential; "the inner logic of Cubism"; "the internal contradictions of the theory"; "the intimate structure of matter"
exclusive to a center; especially a center of influence; "inner regions of the organization"; "inner circles of government"
a measuring instrument that sends out an acoustic pulse in water and measures distances in terms of the time for the echo of the pulse to return; "sonar is an acronym for sound navigation ranging"; "asdic is an acronym for antisubmarine detection investigation committee"