crowded, adj. 1. filled, full, packed, congested, serried; thronged, populous, teeming, swarming, overflowing, Inf. jammed to the rafters.
2. close, tight, squeezed in, pressed together, jammed, cramped, compressed, compact; dense, thick, solid, Inf. packed in like sardines, Inf. breathing down each others' necks; Inf. close as pages in a book, Inf. hanging from the ceiling, crown, n. 1. diadem, coronet, coronal, tiara; garland, chaplet, wreath, festoon, circlet, circle, ring, ringlet; adornment, ornamentation, decoration.
2. bay, laurel, palm, award, reward, prize, trophy, token, memento; kudos, praise, distinction, honor.
3. sovereign, ruler, monarch, potentate, king, Latin, rex, queen, emperor, empress, His or Her Majesty, His or Her Highness; majesty, sovereignty, royalty, rule, rulership, power, authority; regality, dominion, kingdom, territory, jurisdiction.
4. regalia, regale, emblem, design, symbol.
5. cap, hat, crownpiece, headpiece, headgear, helmet.
6. summit, pinnacle, peak, tor, mountaintop, heights; alp, promontory, headland, cliff, precipice, crag, bluff; spire, needle, point, tip, tiptop, top; apex, vertex, apogee.
7. pate, sinciput, forehead, brow; skull, head, poll, Inf. noggin, Sl. noodle, Sl. block; comb, crest, ridge, antler, Botany, corolla; tuft, cluster, tassel, topknot.
8. acme, zenith, meridian, climax, culmination, crowning point, Latin, ne plus ultra-, sublimity, supremacy, consummation, perfection; best, finest, utmost, uttermost, extreme, U.S. Sl. the greatest, U.S. Sl. the tops, U.S. Sl. the most; prime, heyday, bloom, full flower, blossom, efflorescence.
-v. 9. inaugurate, royalize, king, make [s.o.] a king or queen; induct, install, invest, empower; decorate, adorn, festoon, dignify, honor, reward, award, make a presentation.
10. cap, top, top out, surmount, pinnacle, tip, Brit. nib; consummate, perfect, put the finishing touches on, round out or off, culminate, climax; accomplish, fulfill, achieve, attain, compass; complete, conclude, terminate, finish, end.
11. Informal, hit, strike, cuff, beat, buffet, Dial, hit [s.o.] up side the head, Inf. knock [s.o.'s] block off, knock, punch, box, Inf. wallop, Inf. slug, Inf. whack, Sl. conk, Sl. bop, Sl. bash, Sl. belt, Sl. sock, U.S. Sl. biff.
crucial, adj. 1. decisive, determining, pivotal, critical; essential, of the essence, vital, heartbeat, Inf. gut; climactic, momentous, eventful, major, profound; all-important, important, high-priority.
2. acute, severe, serious, grave; perilous, hazardous, dangerous, life-threatening, precarious, Sl. hairy; trying, difficult, demanding, urgent, pressing, compelling, imperative, exigent.
3. cross-shaped, cruciform; transverse, intersecting, secant; latticed, fretted, interlaced.
crucible, n. 1. vessel, beaked vessel, still, alembic,
Metallurgy, retort; mortar, cauldron, vat; cruet, beaker, carafe.
2. test, acid test, proof; trial, ordeal, trial or ordeal by fire; tribulation, hardship, crucify, v. 1. persecute, torment, torture, rack, wring, excruciate; harrow, distress, agonize, trouble.
2. (of oneself) practice self-discipline or self-denial, mortify the flesh, subdue the passions.
3. put to death, execute, nail to the cross, hang on the cross.
crude, adj. 1. raw, coarse, unrefined, unmilled, unground, unprepared, undressed, unprocessed; natural, original, pristine, untouched.