in essence

Idioms  

1. Basically, by nature, as in He is in essence a very private person or In essence, they were asking the wrong question. This term employs essence in the sense of “intrinsic nature,” a usage dating from the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in essence

“I’ve always associated horror with summertime, actually. Like ‘Friday the 13th,’ ‘Sleepaway Camp’” — in essence, the freedom of summer invaded by fear and death.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

This week the island's energy minister acknowledged that Cuba has, in essence, run out of fuel oil.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

As the manager of the the California Department of Education, the state superintendent serves, in essence, as the chief staffer for the State Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Some were, in essence, monumentally scaled abstract sculptures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

A refutation of this argument, in essence, can be found in Cicero, although of course without either typewriters or Shakespeare.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• actually
• approximately
• necessarily
• originally
• permanently
• quite
• really
• substantially
• truly
• typically
• virtually