sine qua non
Indispensable element required
Sine qua non is an essential condition—something absolutely indispensable: Trust is the sine qua non of any successful partnership.
The Latin phrase translates roughly as "without which not," emphasizing that the thing named cannot be absent.
Often used in formal or intellectual contexts to identify a non-negotiable requirement.
Mandatory condition to fulfill
- prerequisiteRequired prior condition
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- stipulationCondition in an agreement
- qualificationRequired skill or condition
criterion · mandate · proviso · condition · specification · demand · threshold · baseline
Utterly required, irreplaceable
- requisiteSomething absolutely needed
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
- crucialOf supreme importance
fundamental · imperative · mandatory · compulsory · obligatory · paramount · integral · inherent
Solid stone underground
- cornerstoneFoundational building block
- keystoneArch's central locking stone
- underpinningFoundational support beneath
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
linchpin · pillar · backbone · mainstay · anchor · fulcrum · nucleus · heart
requirement
Mandatory condition to fulfill
- prerequisiteRequired prior condition
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- stipulationCondition in an agreement
qualification · criterion · mandate · proviso · condition · specification · demand · threshold · baseline · minimum
indispensable
Utterly required, irreplaceable
- requisiteSomething absolutely needed
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
crucial · fundamental · imperative · mandatory · compulsory · obligatory · paramount · integral · inherent · constitutive
bedrock
Solid stone underground
- cornerstoneFoundational building block
- keystoneArch's central locking stone
- underpinningFoundational support beneath
groundwork · linchpin · pillar · backbone · mainstay · anchor · fulcrum · nucleus · heart · crux
- Latin Termsa priori, ab initio, ad hoc, ad lib, bona fide
- Legal Latinab initio, bona fide, caveat emptor, certiorari, de facto
- causationcause, effect, because, causality, causation
- legal causationcausal chain, direct cause, indirect cause, causal link, foreseeability
- LatinLatin, Latin vocabulary, Latin roots, Latin alphabet, Latin phrases
- loanwordsloanword, loan words, borrowings, borrowed words, loan word
sine qua nonoptional
Not mandatory
dispensable · nonessential · unnecessary · inessential · expendable
sine qua nontriviality
Unimportant small matter
afterthought · irrelevance · trifle · nicety · incidental