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essential

 
(ĭ-sĕn'shəl) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Constituting or being part of the essence of something; inherent.
  2. Basic or indispensable; necessary: essential ingredients. See synonyms at indispensable.
  3. Medicine. Of, relating to, or being a dysfunctional condition or a disease whose cause is unknown: essential hypertension.
  4. Biochemistry. Being a substance that is required for normal functioning but cannot be synthesized by the body and therefore must be included in the diet: essential amino acids.
n.
  1. Something fundamental.
  2. Something necessary or indispensable.
essentiality es·sen'ti·al'i·ty (-shē-ăl'ĭ-tē) or es·sen'tial·ness n.
essentially es·sen'tial·ly adv.

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Roget's Thesaurus:

essential

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adjective

  1. Constituting or forming part of the essence of something: basic, constitutional, constitutive, fundamental, integral, vital. See be, surface/depth.
  2. Of or being an irreducible element: basic, elemental, elementary, fundamental, primitive, ultimate, underlying. See surface/depth.
  3. Incapable of being dispensed with: indispensable, necessary, needful, required, requisite. See important/unimportant, necessary/unnecessary.

noun

  1. A fundamental irreducible constituent of a whole: basic, element, fundamental, rudiment (often used in plural). Idioms: part and parcel. See part/whole.
  2. Something indispensable: condition, must, necessity, need, precondition, prerequisite, requirement, requisite, sine qua non. See necessary/unnecessary.

Antonyms by Answers.com:

essential

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adj

Definition: basic, fundamental
Antonyms: atypical, minor, peripheral, secondary

adj

Definition: important, vital, necessary
Antonyms: accessory, auxiliary, inessential, minor, nonessential, optional, secondary, subsidiary, unimportant

n

Definition: necessity, basic
Antonyms: accessory, auxiliary, nonessential, subsidiary, throwaway, trivia

Word Tutor:

essential

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Most important or absolutely necessary.

pronunciation Flour is an essential ingredient in cookies.

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  1. of or being the essence of something; inherent.
  2. absolutely necessary, basic, fundamental, indispensable, vitally important.
  3. necessary for the normal growth of an organism but either not synthesized by that organism or synthesized at an inadequate rate.
  4. (in pathology) describing a clinical condition or disorder that is not attributable to any discernible cause; idiopathic (def. 1).
  5. relating to or derived from an extract of a plant, especially as an essence.

Previous:eskimo 1, eserine, esculetin
Next:essential amino acid, essential fatty acid, essential fatty acid deficiency

1. constituting the necessary or inherent part of a thing; giving a substance its peculiar and necessary qualities.
2. indispensable; required in the diet, as essential fatty acids.
3. idiopathic; self-existing; having no obvious external exciting cause.

  • e. fatty acids (EFAs) — the unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic and α-linolenic, cannot be synthesized by animals but are essential nutrients that must be supplied in the diet.
  • e. fatty acid deficiency — in dogs and cats, there is scaling, alopecia and seborrhea. Poor wound healing, immunosuppression and infertility have also been reported.
Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'essentially'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to essentially, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Essential.
Misspellings:

essential

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Common misspelling(s) of essential

  • essentual
  • essesital
  • essencial
  • esential

Translations:

Essential

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - uundværlig, basal, af afgørende betydning, essentiel, idiopatisk
n. - væsentlig forudsætning, absolut betingelse, hovedpunkt

Nederlands (Dutch)
essentieel, onmisbaar, wezenlijk, idiopathisch/ uniek (ziekte), hoofdzaak, onontbeerlijk iets

Français (French)
adj. - essentiel, indispensable à, capital, fondamental, de première nécessité, (Chim) essentiel
n. - qualité indispensable, l'essentiel, pour l'essentiel, de manière générale, rudiments

Deutsch (German)
adj. - erforderlich, wesentlich, notwendig
n. - Wesentliche, Hauptsache

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ουσιαστικός, ουσιώδης, στοιχειώδης, απαραίτητος

Italiano (Italian)
essenziale, fondamentale

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - essencial

Русский (Russian)
неотъемлемая часть, предмет первой необходимости, обязательный, основной, существенный, незаменимый, определяющий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - esencial, indispensable, primordial, elemental
n. - elementos esenciales, esencia, lo esencial

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - absolut nödvändig, väsentlig, grundläggande, grund-

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
必要的, 本质的, 重要的, 要素, 本质, 要点

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 必要的, 本質的, 重要的
n. - 要素, 本質, 要點

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 본질의, 필수의
n. - 본질적 요소

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 欠くことのできない, 不可欠の, 本質的な, エキスの
n. - 本質的要素, 要点

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) جوهري, أساسي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮נחוץ, חיוני, יסודי, תמציתי, עיקרי‬
n. - ‮דבר או יסוד בסיסי או הכרחי‬


 
 

 

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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 Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry. Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.  Read more
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved.  Read more
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