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

• essentials
  plural

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

   Concentrate on essentials rather than details.

essential British  

/ ɪˈsɛnʃəl /

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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• essentials
  plural

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

See Examples For:

essential essentials

Librettists Kelley Rourke and Matt Foss have skillfully adapted the story, extracting its essential events and distilling them into a taut 90 minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Goldberg believes it will see considerable growth going forward due to its custom-chip business and technology components that are essential for data-center connections.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Kao told the FBI that the lawmakers, lobbyists and Navatek brass understood these donations were bribes and that the payments were essential to the entire scheme.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

A contrasting perspective holds that dystopian and cautionary science fiction serves an essential purpose by exposing the consequences of reckless behavior, political failure and technological overreach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

When I get down to the basement, Grandma has everything set up like last time: a large cloth for us to sit on, essential oils and candles throughout the room.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Tandridge District Council plans to run its winter support scheme for another year, giving eligible residents money to help with essentials and bills.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

But for Claire there are certain essentials everyone should consider stocking up on when leaving home.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

That has helped her avoid the stress of elevated rents, but she still feels pressured by rising costs for groceries, gas and other essentials.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

González sought the creation of the fund for air purifiers, masks and other health essentials for neighbors in the wake of an accident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

They could only buy essentials at the grocery store, like milk, bread, and canned soup.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Related Words

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