Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

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].