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Crucial has the core meaning of decisive: Her tie-breaking vote was crucial. However, crucial has been trivialized to the point that it often means nothing more than "important." This is especially true in media reports in which a hard-hitting word is often more attractive to the reporter: If proportional representation is adopted, it is crucial (= important) to choose the best method. Avoid overusing crucial in formal college writing; it is better reserved for superlatives.
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