essential

American  

[uh-sen-shuhl] / əˈsɛn ʃəl /

adjective

1. absolutely necessary; indispensable.

   Discipline is essential in an army.

   Synonyms:

   vital, intrinsic, inherent, basic, fundamental

2. pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.

   Antonyms:

   accidental, extrinsic, extraneous, incidental

3. noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.

4. being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous.

   essential happiness.

5. 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.

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noun

• essentials
  plural

1. a basic, indispensable, or necessary element; chief point.

   Concentrate on essentials rather than details.

essential British  

/ ɪˈsɛnʃəl, ɪˌsɛnʃɪˈælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. vitally important; absolutely necessary

2. basic; fundamental

   the essential feature

3. completely realized; absolute; perfect

   essential beauty

4. 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

5. derived from or relating to an extract of a plant, drug, etc

   an essential oil

6. 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

7. music denoting or relating to a note that belongs to the fundamental harmony of a chord or piece

8. pathol (of a disease) having no obvious external cause

   essential hypertension

9. 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

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noun

1. something fundamental or indispensable

   a sharp eye is an essential for a printer

2. music an essential note

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• essentiality
  noun
• essentialness
  noun
• preessential
  noun
• subessentialness
  noun
• quasi-essential
  adjective
• subessential
  adjective
• essentially
  adverb
• preessentially
  adverb
• quasi-essentially
  adverb
• subessentially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• essentials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of essential

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al ¹

Explanation

Essential means very basic or necessary. A good frying pan is one of a short list of kitchen essentials every cook must have. To prevent fires, it's essential to turn off appliances before leaving the house. The adjective essential is often followed by to or that: It is essential to wash your hands. It is essential that you dry them after. This adjective is from Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentialis, from Latin essentia "the basic nature of a thing, its essence" plus the Latin suffix -alis "relating to."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

essential essentials

The Algerian president ordered that compensation be paid to the families who have been affected, as well as repairs to damaged homes and essential services.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

"US forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

Helium, which is essential for semiconductor manufacturing for the artificial-intelligence industry and MRI machines, saw prices surge after disruptions in Qatar, a major producer of the gas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Hom also leads precursor observing programs with ground-based telescopes, work that is essential for confirming which targets should be selected for future Roman science programs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Aural transmission also enhances brain function since memorization is essential, along with mental mapping of melodies and rhythms.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

To Bangley, the four essentials of life are “power, food, water and weapons.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

"For most of us, extreme heat is an inconvenience. For Big Issue vendors, it means earning significantly less and making difficult decisions about rent, food and other essentials," she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

A reliable indicator of economic health is real disposable income, which tracks how much extra money people actually have after essentials are paid for.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Since our move coincided with Amazon’s Prime Day sale, I timed a few purchases accordingly and saved a combined $21.50 on the router and some household essentials.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

In five minutes, my carpetbag was packed with a few essentials: Tonic, my magic book, my dictionary, a shawl, and little else.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Related Words

• condition
• element
• essence
• fundamental
• must
• precondition
• prerequisite
• principle
• requirement
• requisite