consideration, mark, materialness.
import, significance, concern; emphasis, interest.
greatness &c 31; superiority &c 33; notability &c (repute) 873;
weight &c (influence) 175; value &c (goodness) 648; usefulness &c 644.
gravity, seriousness, solemnity; no joke, no laughing matter;
pressure, urgency, stress; matter of life and death.
memorabilia, notabilia†, great doings; red-letter day.
great thing, great point; main chance, the be all and the end all
[Macbeth]; cardinal point; substance, gist &c (essence) 5; sum and
substance, gravamen, head and front; important part, principal part,
prominent part, essential part; half the battle; sine qua non; breath
of one's nostrils &c (life) 359; cream, salt, core, kernel, heart,
nucleus; keynote, keystone; corner stone; trump card &c (device) 626;
salient points.
top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna [Sp.], chief; triton among
the minnows; 'it' [U.S.].
V. be important &c adj., be somebody, be something; import, signify,
matter, boot, be an object; carry weight &c (influence) 175; make a
figure &c (repute) 873; be in the ascendant, come to the front, lead
the way, take the lead, play first fiddle, throw all else into the
shade; lie at the root of; deserve notice, merit notice, be worthy of
notice, be worthy of regard, be worthy of consideration.
attach importance to, ascribe importance to, give importance to &c
n.; value, care for, set store upon, set store by; mark &c 550; mark
with a white stone, underline; write in italics, put in italics, print
in italics, print in capitals, print in large letters, put in large
type, put in letters.
of gold; accentuate, emphasize, lay stress on.
make a fuss about, make a fuss over, make a stir about, make a
piece of work about [Fr.], make much ado about; make much ado of, make
much of.
Adj. important; of importance &c n.; momentous, material; to the point;
not to be overlooked, not to be despised, not to be sneezed at;
egregious; weighty &c (influential) 175; of note &c (repute) 873;
notable, prominent, salient, signal; memorable, remarkable;
unforgettable; worthy of remark, worthy of notice; never to be
forgotten; stirring, eventful.
grave, serious, earnest, noble, grand, solemn, impressive,
commanding, imposing.
urgent, pressing, critical, instant.
paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal,
chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost,
overruling; of vital importance &c in the front rank, first-rate;
superior &c 33; considerable &c (great) 31; marked &c v.; rare &c 137.
significant, telling, trenchant, emphatic, pregnant; tanti [Lat.].
Adv. materially &c adj.; in the main; above all, kat' exochin [Gr.],
par excellence, to crown all, to beat all.
Phr. expende Hannibalem! [Lat.] [Juvenal].