paramountpar‧a‧mount /ˈpærəmaʊnt/ ●○○ adjective formal 
During a war the interests of the state are paramount, and those of the individual come last. Women’s role as mothers is of paramount importance to society.► see thesaurus at important—paramountcy noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINparamount
Origin:
1500-1600 Anglo-French paramont, from Old French par ‘by’ + amont ‘above’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- An airline spokesman stated that the safety of passengers was absolutely paramount.
- Public safety and security are matters of paramount importance.
- The patients' wishes and needs are paramount and they must always come before our own.
- While some musical ability is necessary, it is not the paramount concern.
- But without an enemy, can credibility really be a paramount concern?
- For him the power of love is paramount.
- Getting a good education was paramount in my family ethos, and I should not stray from it, I decided.
- Residential considerations were paramount for about one-third of the sample.
- Steve Jobs considered the look of his products to be paramount, and his intentions with the Macintosh design were particularly ambitious.
- Two structural dimensions were of paramount importance.
- Whose interests within the state are of paramount importance?
THESAURUSmost important
[only before noun] most important: · What was your main aim?· the principal reason for their decision· the chief cause of the recession
[usually before noun] one of the most important or serious things: · Smoking is a major cause of heart disease.· Street crime is a major problem.
[usually before noun] most important – used especially when talking about the main thing that people are discussing, worried about, or trying to do: · Education will be the central issue in the election.· Our primary concern is passenger safety.
formal more important than anything else, so that you must consider it when deciding what to do: · Airport security is of paramount importance.· The needs of the students are paramount.
Longman Language Activatormost important · This was possibly the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century.· For Muslims, this is the most important day of the year.· If there is a fire, the most important thing is to get all the students out of the building immediately.
the most important thing, which needs to be dealt with before anything else or given more attention than anything else: · First, let's decide what our priorities are.· My main priority is get through all my exams.first/top/number one priority: · Safety has always been our number one priority.give priority to something (=decide that something is very important, and deal with it urgently): · The President promised to give priority to reducing unemployment.
something that is urgent must be dealt with or done as soon as possible, especially because something very bad could happen if it is not: · I've got one or two urgent letters to write.· Your sister's been calling -- I think it's urgent.· An international effort is required to cope with the urgent needs of the earthquake victims.
to be the most important and urgent of all the things that have to be done, especially by a government or company: · Getting inflation down is at the top of the agenda.· The government were reluctant to put equal pay for women anywhere near the top of the agenda.
if someone or something takes precedence over someone or something else, they are more important and need to be dealt with first: · Don't keep Mr Rawlings waiting, he takes precedence over any other client.· Once again, the leader's wishes have taken precedence over the students' demands.
: overriding need/concern/consideration etc the thing that is most important and must be dealt with before anything else: · The overriding need here is to end the civil war.· an overriding concern to secure business efficiency
more important than anything else: · The patients' wishes and needs are paramount and they must always come before our own.· While some musical ability is necessary, it is not the paramount concern.of paramount importance: · Public safety and security are matters of paramount importance.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Women’s role as mothers is of paramount importance to society.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
more important than anything else: Women’s role as mothers is of paramount importance to society. (=be extremely important)· It is of the utmost importance that this matter is kept confidential.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· The first is that the Prime Minister has always said she regards the fight against inflation as paramount.· Alternatively, the collective good is seen as paramount, and individual freedom must be constrained to achieve that collective good.
NOUN· But without an enemy, can credibility really be a paramount concern?· Understanding how to teach the mainstreamed special learner is of paramount concern to the teacher who must do it.
· While the legal rights of all parties must be respected the welfare of the child must be the court's paramount consideration.· Without independence, the interests of the client can not be a first and paramount consideration.· However, this concern became a paramount consideration during the 1970s.
· Anybody who knows anything about football knows confidence is of paramount importance.· How you answer this question is a matter of paramount importance.· The right spacing of voices and placing of intervals is therefore of paramount importance in achieving our aesthetic objectives.· In the conventional wisdom, none the less, the balanced budget remained of paramount importance.· The symptoms and signs are therefore of paramount importance in designing the treatment.· His collection of Turners was of greater and paramount importance.· Whose interests within the state are of paramount importance?· Stopping the epidemic is of paramount importance.
During a war the interests of the state are paramount, and those of the individual come last. Women’s role as mothers is of paramount importance to society.► see thesaurus at important—paramountcy noun [uncountable]