essential
Americanadjective
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absolutely necessary; indispensable.
Discipline is essential in an army.
- Synonyms:
- vital, intrinsic, inherent, basic, fundamental
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pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.
- Antonyms:
- accidental, extrinsic, extraneous, incidental
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noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.
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being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous.
essential happiness.
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Mathematics.
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(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.
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(of a discontinuity) noting that the function is discontinuous and has no limit at the point.
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noun
adjective
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vitally important; absolutely necessary
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basic; fundamental
the essential feature
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completely realized; absolute; perfect
essential beauty
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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
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derived from or relating to an extract of a plant, drug, etc
an essential oil
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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
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music denoting or relating to a note that belongs to the fundamental harmony of a chord or piece
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pathol (of a disease) having no obvious external cause
essential hypertension
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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
noun
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something fundamental or indispensable
a sharp eye is an essential for a printer
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music an essential note
Related Words
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
- essentiality noun
- essentially adverb
- essentialness noun
- preessential noun
- preessentially adverb
- quasi-essential adjective
- quasi-essentially adverb
- subessential adjective
- subessentially adverb
- subessentialness noun
Etymology
Origin of essential
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She also stressed that cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for both men and women, making prevention essential for everyone.
From Science Daily
The discussions in Abu Dhabi “covered a range of important issues—primarily military, essential to bringing the war to an end,” Zelensky said after the talks.
"It shows that CD4+ T cells aren't just supporting actors; they can be powerful cancer fighters in their own right and are possibly essential for truly effective anti-tumor responses."
From Science Daily
Members of migrant communities have avoided medical treatment, been unable to purchase essentials, lost jobs and even taken their children out of school to avoid venturing outside where they are more vulnerable to immigration checks.
From Barron's
The city-state produces semiconductors essential for electric vehicles and industrial systems, and could benefit from increasing demand for memory chips and autonomous vehicles, says the central bank.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
