How to Use pivotal in a Sentence

pivotal

adjective
  • She is at a pivotal point in her career.
  • Both teams' bullpens could prove pivotal.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 17 Mar. 2026
  • This is a pivotal year for Jung.
    — Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Just a single day could be so pivotal.
    — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
  • The tune starts and stops a few times during a pivotal scene.
    — Lily Moayeri, Variety, 24 Mar. 2022
  • And there has rarely been a moment more pivotal than right now.
    — Brittany Pettersen, Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Because that’s a pivotal play in the game.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
  • The talks come at a pivotal moment.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
  • All of them were at a pivotal life milestone when the war broke out.
    — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
  • But to him, all of the town’s problems stemmed from one pivotal source.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
  • That’s the petty, now the pivotal.
    — Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
  • The pivotal play of the game for the Warriors?
    — Dan Rios, Daily News, 20 May 2026
  • And so to me, that was a pivotal moment in my career.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
  • This season will be a pivotal year for him and the franchise.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 27 May 2026
  • But being around them at that pivotal time was amazing.
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025
  • The mid-1990s were a pivotal stretch.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Her monologue is a pivotal moment, and one of the film’s best.
    — Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 28 July 2023
  • Watching her work was pivotal for Magliano.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 28 May 2026
  • The pivotal scene happens on a high ridgeline with the best views of the hike.
    — Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Which is good news, since tech is pivotal to the state’s economy.
    — Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
  • Still, the startup sees this as a pivotal moment.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2025
  • This looks like a good one, though, possibly a pivotal game for both teams.
    — Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 1 Sep. 2025
  • This summer will prove pivotal in how the club moves forward over the next few years.
    — Emmet Gates, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Let’s run through the five most pivotal role players for this season.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • But this part of the dynamic is pivotal, too.
    — Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Parents play a pivotal role in shaping healthy habits.
    — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Think of a three-act play — from the setup to the pivotal turn to the outcome.
    — Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Based on the roads ahead for both programs, today's game looms pivotal.
    — Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2022
  • Fritz bashed a return of Rublev’s serve to take the pivotal break and the match.
    — Beth Harris, ajc, 20 Mar. 2022
  • Chancers that were there that day … only to be squandered in the pivotal first half.
    — Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pivotal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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