essential

American  

[uh-sen-shuhl] / əˈsɛn ʃəl /

adjective

1. absolutely necessary; indispensable.

   Discipline is essential in an army.

   Synonyms:

   vital, intrinsic, inherent, basic, fundamental

2. pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.

   Antonyms:

   accidental, extrinsic, extraneous, incidental

3. noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.

4. being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous.

   essential happiness.

5. Mathematics.

   1. (of a singularity of a function of a complex variable) noting that the Laurent series at the point has an infinite number of terms with negative powers.

   2. (of a discontinuity) noting that the function is discontinuous and has no limit at the point.

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noun

1. a basic, indispensable, or necessary element; chief point.

   Concentrate on essentials rather than details.

essential British  

/ ɪˈsɛnʃəl, ɪˌsɛnʃɪˈælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. vitally important; absolutely necessary

2. basic; fundamental

   the essential feature

3. completely realized; absolute; perfect

   essential beauty

4. biochem (of an amino acid or a fatty acid) necessary for the normal growth of an organism but not synthesized by the organism and therefore required in the diet

5. derived from or relating to an extract of a plant, drug, etc

   an essential oil

6. logic (of a property) guaranteed by the identity of the subject; necessary. Thus, if having the atomic number 79 is an essential property of gold, nothing can be gold unless it has that atomic number

7. music denoting or relating to a note that belongs to the fundamental harmony of a chord or piece

8. pathol (of a disease) having no obvious external cause

   essential hypertension

9. geology (of a mineral constituent of a rock) necessary for defining the classification of a rock. Its absence alters the rock's name and classification

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noun

1. something fundamental or indispensable

   a sharp eye is an essential for a printer

2. music an essential note

Synonym Usage

See necessary. Essential, inherent, intrinsic refer to that which is in the natural composition of a thing. Essential suggests that which is in the very essence or constitution of a thing: Oxygen and hydrogen are essential in water. Inherent means inborn or fixed from the beginning as a permanent quality or constituent of a thing: properties inherent in iron. Intrinsic implies belonging to the nature of a thing itself, and comprised within it, without regard to external considerations or accidentally added properties: the intrinsic value of diamonds.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preessential
  noun
• essentialness
  noun
• quasi-essential
  adjective
• essentiality
  noun
• subessentialness
  noun
• preessentially
  adverb
• subessential
  adjective
• quasi-essentially
  adverb
• essentially
  adverb
• subessentially
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of essential

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al ¹

Explanation

Essential means very basic or necessary. A good frying pan is one of a short list of kitchen essentials every cook must have. To prevent fires, it's essential to turn off appliances before leaving the house. The adjective essential is often followed by to or that: It is essential to wash your hands. It is essential that you dry them after. This adjective is from Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentialis, from Latin essentia "the basic nature of a thing, its essence" plus the Latin suffix -alis "relating to."

Example Sentences

Mr. Troy is a senior fellow in Zionist thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem and author of “The Essential Guide to the U.S-Israel Partnership, the 250th Anniversary Edition,” forthcoming in June.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

Essential services -- such as hospitals and hotels -- can remain open must pay their staff double.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

But Sergio de Sousa, managing partner at Hidden Brook, suggested Essential Quality, a champion colt at 2 and 3 at the start of this decade.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Another Harrogate-based charity, Lifeline, which helps to provide housing to homeless and vulnerable people, has been working with Essential Needs to furnish accommodation.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

She loved her bosses at Essential Baking Company, and the smell of warm pastries, and the way the old people’s faces at Sunnyside Eldercare would light up when she came in.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Related Words

• condition
• element
• essence
• fundamental
• must
• precondition
• prerequisite
• principle
• requirement
• requisite