focal
🇬🇧 /ˈfəʊkəl/
🇺🇸 /ˈfoʊkəl/
📖 Definitions
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adjective
Relating to or situated at a focus or focal point; central or of primary importance.; Of or relating to the focus of a lens, mirror, or other optical system.; In medicine, relating to or confined to a specific area or point of origin, as opposed to being diffuse or generalized.; In linguistics, relating to the element of a sentence that carries the main information or emphasis; pertaining to focus in information structure.; In mathematics, relating to a focus of a conic section or other geometric figure.; Serving as a center of activity, attention, or interest; pivotal.
🔗 Details
Word forms
Comparative: more focal
Superlative: most focal
Collocations
focal pointfocal lengthfocal areafocal distancefocal plane
Derivatives
focallyfocalizefocalizationfocal pointfocal length
Synonyms
centralpivotalkeycrucialcore
Antonyms
peripheralmarginalsecondary
Commonly confused
focused
EN: 'Focused' describes someone who is concentrating or something that is sharp/clear; 'focal' describes something that serves as or relates to a center point.
focus
EN: 'Focus' is the noun or verb form; 'focal' is the adjective derived from it.
Spelling tips
EN: Remember 'focal' is derived from 'focus' + '-al', so it has only one 's'. Do not confuse with 'fossil' which has double 's'.
💬 Examples
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The focal point of the debate was the new tax policy.
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The focal length of the telescope determines its magnification power.
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The patient was diagnosed with focal epilepsy originating from the temporal lobe.
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The focal constituent in the sentence is typically marked by stress or intonation.
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The focal parameter of a parabola is the distance from the focus to the directrix.
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She played a focal role in organizing the community event.