ROGET'S THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES ...

2. Degree of Subservience
642. Importance -- N. importance, consequence, moment, prominence, 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].