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

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Etymology

Origin of essential

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

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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

Synapses are essential for processing information and supporting functions such as learning, memory, and emotional regulation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026

Sir Lindsay Hoyle told the BBC the current process for approving essential renovations to Parliament amounted to "putting ourselves in handcuffs", and said more time was spent "doing surveys" than getting repairs under way.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

Laura Miller makes the case that Edgar Allan Poe—whose work deliberately eschews many of the essential themes of American literature—is actually the most influential American writer of them all.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026

That drew criticism from opposition politicians and public-sector professionals who warned of damage to essential services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

“Completely sure. In fact, it is essential that I be allowed to speak.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Colourful patterns known as rangoli are created at entrances to homes, while markets bustle with shoppers buying festive essentials beneath brightly lit decorations.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Economist Milward Tobias warned that the lack of supply threatened food security by disrupting the delivery of fertiliser and other essentials to farmers in the largely agricultural economy.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Some Airbnb hosts are threatening to quit the platform, raise their housekeeping fees or pare their rental properties down to the bare essentials rather than accept new restrictions on checkout chores.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

People were missing work, and had been delinquent on repairs, and late on bills, calling in favors everywhere, even for the essentials.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

There were her stereopticon, her slides, her world globe—almost all the essentials of life, Miss Whitlaw said, disregarding food, clothes, and bedding.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

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Related Words

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

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