key — OET · Shobdo

key

noun

1 the key to the mystery lay elsewhere | customer satisfaction is the key to success:

answer, clue, solution, explanation, pointer, cue, lead;

basis of, foundation for, requisite for;

condition, precondition, essential, means, way, route, path, passport, secret, formula;

guide, gloss, glossary, interpretation, explication, translation, clarification, exposition, annotation, index, legend, code.

2 Musica song in a minor key:

tone, pitch, timbre, tonality, tone colour, modulation.

3 it was like the sixties all over again, in a more austerely intellectual key:

style, character, mood, vein, spirit, feel, feeling, flavour, quality, humour, atmosphere.

adjective

he was a key figure in formulating policy:

crucial, central, essential, indispensable, basic, fundamental, pivotal, critical, decisive, dominant, vital, principal, salient, prime, chief, major, leading, main, important, significant.

▷antonyms secondary, peripheral.

key (1) Oxford Dictionary of English