quintessential
Americanadjective
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of the pure and essential essence of something.
the quintessential Jewish delicatessen.
-
of or relating to the most perfect embodiment of something.
the quintessential performance of the Brandenburg Concertos.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quintessential
First recorded in 1545–55; quintessence ( def. ) + -ial ( def. ), on the pattern of essential ( def. )
Explanation
If someone tells you you’re the quintessential rock musician, that means they think that everything about you screams “rock and roll.” Quintessential means embodying or possessing the essence of something. Some people think that baseball is the quintessential American sport. (Others might think it's stock car racing.) We also call something quintessential if it’s absolutely necessary. A quintessential part of a lasting friendship is mutual respect. Good computer skills are quintessential if you want to become the world’s greatest hacker.
Vocabulary lists containing quintessential
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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Fast Food Nation
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Vocabulary Heard at the 2016 Democratic National Convention
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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.
“Kafkaesque” suggests that translation is the quintessential medium for a body of work obsessed with alienation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
"The resulting chaos for patients, providers, pharmacies, and the drug-regulatory system is a quintessential irreparable harm that underscores the need for emergency relief from this Court."
From Barron's • May 2, 2026
Talk of ending the traditional dinner described by some wags as the quintessential glitzy Washington, D.C., event is growing.
From Salon • May 1, 2026
Once cutting-edge and now quintessential, productions led by these iconic writing duos, along with book writers Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, represented a growing interest among librettists in cohesive stories that offered topical cultural commentary.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
They imagined themselves quintessential outsiders, yet felt most comfortable sitting in the inner quadrangles of Cambridge colleges.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
