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essential

[ uh-sen-shuhl ]
/ əˈsɛn ʃəl /
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See synonyms for: essential / essentials / essentially / essentialness on Thesaurus.com
adjective
absolutely necessary; indispensable: Discipline is essential in an army.
pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.
noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.
being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous: essential happiness.
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.Compare removable (def. 2).
noun
a basic, indispensable, or necessary element; chief point: Concentrate on essentials rather than details.
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Origin of essential

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al1

synonym study for essential

1. See necessary. 2. 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 WORDS FROM essential

Words nearby essential

esse, Essen, essence, essence d'orient, Essene, essential, essential amino acid, essential element, essential fatty acid, essential hypertension, essentialism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to essential

crucial, fundamental, imperative, indispensable, important, main, necessary, needed, vital, absolute, constitutional, elemental, inherent, intrinsic, key, underlying, condition, element, essence, must

How to use essential in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for essential

essential
/ (ÉȘˈsɛnʃəl) /
adjective
noun
something fundamental or indispensablea sharp eye is an essential for a printer
music an essential note

Derived forms of essential

essentiality (ÉȘˌsɛnʃÉȘˈÊlÉȘtÉȘ) or essentialness, noun
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
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