How to Use pivotal in a Sentence

pivotal

adjective
  • She is at a pivotal point in her career.
  • Wilson points to the 1330s as the pivotal decade of change.
    — Ana María Velasco, National Geographic, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Fritz bashed a return of Rublev’s serve to take the pivotal break and the match.
    — Beth Harris, ajc, 20 Mar. 2022
  • 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
  • The pivotal scene happens on a high ridgeline with the best views of the hike.
    — Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The tune starts and stops a few times during a pivotal scene.
    — Lily Moayeri, Variety, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Her monologue is a pivotal moment, and one of the film’s best.
    — Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 28 July 2023
  • Week 1 of the season is a pivotal one for the conference.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 28 Aug. 2023
  • That was a pivotal moment for Tim — an epiphany for him.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 18 Dec. 2023
  • In this case, the Sox lamented pivotal instances when the ball didn’t roll at all.
    — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2023
  • The Bible plays a pivotal role, with its promise of the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham.
    — Maeghan Dolph, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2023
  • Then came 2010, a pivotal year for Elissa and for Xu — in ways both good and bad.
    — Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA Today, 19 May 2025
  • The Kings fell in Phoenix in pivotal game on a few different fronts.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Both played pivotal roles in each of the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup over the past two seasons.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 13 June 2022
  • Andrew Iverson is the right man for the job in this pivotal election.
    — Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2024
  • And that’s excellent news for that pivotal spell scene at the end of No Way Home.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 15 Mar. 2022
  • This summer will prove pivotal in how the club moves forward over the next few years.
    — Emmet Gates, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2022
  • The trade deadline will be pivotal to the remaining stretch of the season.
    — James O'Connell, New York Daily News, 19 July 2024
  • Which is good news, since tech is pivotal to the state’s economy.
    — Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
  • The trade deadline, a pivotal AL East series and a reunion.
    — Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 31 July 2023
  • One of the world’s biggest pop stars has played a pivotal role in the increase in female Chiefs fans over the last year.
    — Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 21 Nov. 2024
  • The three-point defeat puts the Hurricanes at a pivotal point in the season.
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 10 Oct. 2022
  • While there were pivotal goals and moments, the boys from a collection of schools played as a unit of one.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 27 July 2022
  • The chop marked a pivotal moment in both the model's career and the Mod era in general.
    — Tish Weinstock, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2023
  • In the docuseries, Casey resurfaced claims that the man played a pivotal role in her daughter Caylee’s 2008 death.
    — Jasmine Browley, Essence, 15 Dec. 2022
  • This late-season matchup, once again, could prove pivotal in the playoff race.
    — Jonas Shaffer, Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2022
  • Based on the roads ahead for both programs, today's game looms pivotal.
    — Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2022
  • Via Alex Speier: The Celtics have arrived at the witching hour — or, at least, what has been their pivotal point with turnovers.
    — Nicole Yang, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2022
  • The Carolina Panthers are nearing a pivotal second training camp for head coach Dave Canales and his coaching staff.
    — Mike Kaye july 14, Charlotte Observer, 14 July 2025
  • Lorde, whose music is featured at a pivotal moment in the show, also attended a performance at the Booth Theatre last week.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 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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