What does paramount mean?
Word: Paramount
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Paramount means more important than anything else.
Synonyms: supreme, chief, foremost, uppermost
Antonyms: secondary, unimportant, trivial
Word origin: From the Old French par amont, 'above' or 'at the top'.
How do you spell paramount?
Syllables: par - a - mount
Tricky part: The middle vowel is a, though it is hardly heard, and the r is single.
Watch out for: paramont, peramount, parramount
Memory tip: Paramount sits on top, like the peak of a mountain, and it borrows the ou of mountain for its end: paramont is wrong.
Paramount in a sentence
Example 1: For our coach, fitness is paramount.
Example 2: Safety is paramount on a mountain trek.
Example 3: In a hospital, cleanliness is of paramount importance.
Fun Fact
Paramount chief is still an official title in Sierra Leone, where each chiefdom is headed by one.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word paramount as it is used in the sentence:
For the new principal, good discipline was paramount.
a) central
b) major
c) minor
d) vital
Show answer
c) minor. Vital, central and major all point to great importance; minor means small in importance.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to find the right word:
Clean drinking water is of pmaanrotu importance in a hot Indian summer.
a) tantamount
b) amount
c) prominent
d) paramount
Show answer
d) paramount. Only paramount uses all nine letters, with two a's and one each of p, r, m, o, u, n and t.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the one that is not.
1. parachute 2. paramount 3. paragraph 4. paralell
a) ranking above everything else in importance
b) running side by side and never meeting
c) a group of sentences about one idea
d) a large cloth that slows a fall through the air
Show answer
b) running side by side and never meeting. Parallel has a double l in the middle and a single l at the end; paramount, parachute and paragraph are all fine.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
For the captain of our school football team, fair play is paramount, even when the referee makes a desision that seems unfair.
a) referee
b) desision
c) captain
d) paramount
Show answer
b) desision. Decision comes from decide, so it keeps the c: de-ci-sion.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If honesty is paramount to you, it is ____.
a) a rule only for others
b) what matters most of all
c) something you stay away from
d) a detail of little use
Show answer
b) what matters most of all
2. Of paramount importance means ____.
a) slightly important
b) once important
c) extremely important
d) not important
Show answer
c) extremely important
