essentially
Americanadverb
adverb
Other Word Forms
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.
Where the earlier series are essentially light-hearted, murder notwithstanding, the new “Tommy & Tuppence” is more romantic drama than comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Keep in mind that there’s no hard evidence that LLMs, which are essentially souped-up versions of the predictive text algorithm on your phone, are going to assemble into something so complex and godlike.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Ireland made a bet on globalization and a world without conflict, essentially, and set itself up as a European hub for primarily American companies,” said Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
"The dark chocolate scent serves as a learned cue for a rich, bitter, and highly satiating food, which essentially tricks the system into an anticipatory state of fullness," said Nashrudin Naharudin.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Although less given to hyperbole than Washington, Du Bois saw Durham in essentially the same positive light after visiting there less than a decade later.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
