essential
Americanadjective
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absolutely necessary; indispensable.
Discipline is essential in an army.
- Synonyms:
- vital, intrinsic, inherent, basic, fundamental
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pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.
- Antonyms:
- accidental, extrinsic, extraneous, incidental
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noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.
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being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous.
essential happiness.
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Mathematics.
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(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.
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(of a discontinuity) noting that the function is discontinuous and has no limit at the point.
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noun
adjective
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vitally important; absolutely necessary
-
basic; fundamental
the essential feature
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completely realized; absolute; perfect
essential beauty
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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
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derived from or relating to an extract of a plant, drug, etc
an essential oil
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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
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music denoting or relating to a note that belongs to the fundamental harmony of a chord or piece
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pathol (of a disease) having no obvious external cause
essential hypertension
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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
noun
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something fundamental or indispensable
a sharp eye is an essential for a printer
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music an essential note
Related Words
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
- essentiality noun
- essentially adverb
- essentialness noun
- preessential noun
- preessentially adverb
- quasi-essential adjective
- quasi-essentially adverb
- subessential adjective
- subessentially adverb
- subessentialness noun
Etymology
Origin of essential
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al 1
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.
Scientists have revealed how viruses that infect bacteria shut down MurJ, a protein essential for building the bacterial cell wall.
From Science Daily
The partnership allows Coco bots to deliver fresh groceries, electronics and household essentials as well as hot prepared meals.
From Los Angeles Times
He promised a "health and care service that works" and an education system "focused on equipping every pupil with essential life skills".
From BBC
People have been warned against gatherings and going to school and work unless it is essential.
From BBC
Those amino acids are linked together in a defined order to build proteins, the molecules that carry out most of life's essential tasks.
From Science Daily
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.
