essentially
Britishadverb
Explanation
Notice the tie between essentially and the word "essence," referring to the very core of something. As an adverb, then, essentially refers to something's nature. In spite of your faults, you're essentially a good person. The word essentia came from the Lower Latin, referring to something's inherent qualities. If you're convinced that there's not much difference between two things, you might say that they are essentially the same. Nietzsche once made the essentially sexist comment, "Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.”
Vocabulary lists containing essentially
Amari and the Night Brothers
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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.
“If this standard was applied across the industry, we believe it would essentially halt all new model deployments for all frontier model providers.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
The venture lets clients put private-company shares essentially “right next to their Apple stock,” said Artem Korenyuk, Citi’s global lead for digital assets enterprise alignment and services enablement.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
The public price for a share in the company is ultimately decided through what is essentially an auction on the open stock market.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
“Refineries cost a lot of money and essentially make pennies on the dollar,” said Ed Hirs, an energy economist in Houston.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
This essentially makes Mr. Shunk a kindergarten teacher.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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.
