Instrumental?

Factual Questions
1

Hey linguists and cognoscenti of the lingua anglica: In common usage, when you say that someone has been instrumental in getting a legislative bill adopted (for example), does it imply that this person has merely helped to have this bill adopted, or that he or she has played a crucial role in the matter? Dictionaries I have looked at seem to go for the first interpretation but, for some reason or another, I have the feeling that it should or could be the second one.

Not a life or death question; just curiosity. Thanks.

2
3

Thanks for clearing that up, Sultan.:smiley:

4

No prob. If you want an adjective to describe someone who was involved but not necessarily instrumental, you could use facilitative or, as you said, helpful.

:slight_smile:

5

Assuming that Sultan has it right, it would appear that every day usage would run counter to what I’ve found in Webster’s:

…and in Collins English Dictionary:

Interesting…