essence

[ es-uhns ]

/ ˈɛs əns /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR essence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features: Freedom is the very essence of our democracy.

a substance obtained from a plant, drug, or the like, by distillation, infusion, etc., and containing its characteristic properties in concentrated form.

an alcoholic solution of an essential oil; spirit.

a perfume; scent.

Philosophy. the inward nature, true substance, or constitution of anything, as opposed to what is accidental, phenomenal, illusory, etc.

something that exists, especially a spiritual or immaterial entity.

Nearby words

essayist, essayistic, esse, esse quam videri, essen, essence, essence d'orient, essence of bergamot, essene, essential, essential amino acid

Idioms

in essence, essentially; at bottom, often despite appearances: For all his bluster, he is in essence a shy person.

of the essence, absolutely essential; critical; crucial: In chess, cool nerves are of the essence.

Origin of essence

1350–1400; Middle English essencia < Medieval Latin, for Latin essentia. See esse, -ence

SYNONYMS FOR essence

1 substance, spirit, lifeblood, heart, principle, soul, core.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR essence ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

self-es·sence, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for essence

They are both viewed in essence like eating Brussels sprouts.
The Devil in Mike Huckabee|Dean Obeidallah|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Humans spent a long time domesticating cattle, and what they were trying to do, in essence, was de-domesticate them.
‘Nazi Cows’ Tried to Kill British Farmer|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They are now in essence a sisterhood joined together by a vile incident.
Here’s What She’d Tell Bill Cosby Today|Dean Obeidallah|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The essence of nearly every Disney film is that women need saving, preferably by a man from a superior social and economic class.
Sexism Begins in the Toy Aisle|Nancy Kaffer|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In essence, they placed a bunch of solar panels in the form of a suspension bridge on top of the lift.
Solar Powered Ski Lift|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That, I take it, is the essence of beauty—not that I am learned in beauty, though I am an expert in ugliness.
Francezka|Molly Elliot Seawell
There was in him too much of the essence of the highest chivalry to permit such things.
The Eagle's Heart|Hamlin Garland
It had seemed to me hitherto that the essence of my duty lay in marrying Hugh.
The High Heart|Basil King
The “blood of trees” was the name for sap; sap was water impregnated or vitalized by Soma, the essence of life.
Indian Myth and Legend|Donald Alexander Mackenzie
It is of the essence of a "treat," to use the good old word of childhood, that it should be more or less exceptional.
Through East Anglia in a Motor Car|J. E. (James Edmund) Vincent

British Dictionary definitions for essence

essence

/ (ˈɛsəns) /

noun

the characteristic or intrinsic feature of a thing, which determines its identity; fundamental nature

the most distinctive element of a thingthe essence of a problem

a perfect or complete form of something, esp a person who typifies an abstract qualityhe was the essence of gentility

philosophy

the unchanging and unchangeable nature of something which is necessary to its being the thing it is; its necessary propertiesCompare accident (def. 4)
the properties in virtue of which something is called by its name
the nature of something as distinct from, and logically prior to, its existence

theol an immaterial or spiritual entity

the constituent of a plant, usually an oil, alkaloid, or glycoside, that determines its chemical or pharmacological properties
an alcoholic solution of such a substance

a substance, usually a liquid, containing the properties of a plant or foodstuff in concentrated formvanilla essence

a rare word for perfume

in essence essentially; fundamentally

of the essence indispensable; vitally important

Word Origin for essence

C14: from Medieval Latin essentia, from Latin: the being (of something), from esse to be

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012