Essential \Es*sen"tial\ ([e^]s*s[e^]n"sjal), a. [Cf. F.
essentiel. See Essence.]
1. Belonging to the essence, or that which makes an object,
or class of objects, what it is.
[1913 Webster]
Majestic as the voice sometimes became, there was
forever in it an essential character of
plaintiveness. --Hawthorne.
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2. Hence, really existing; existent.
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Is it true, that thou art but a name,
And no essential thing? --Webster
(1623).
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3. Important in the highest degree; indispensable to the
attainment of an object; indispensably necessary.
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Judgment's more essential to a general
Than courage. --Denham.
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How to live? -- that is the essential question for
us. --H. Spencer.
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4. Containing the essence or characteristic portion of a
substance, as of a plant; highly rectified; pure; hence,
unmixed; as, an essential oil. "Mine own essential
horror." --Ford.
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5. (Mus.) Necessary; indispensable; -- said of those tones
which constitute a chord, in distinction from ornamental
or passing tones.
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6. (Med.) Idiopathic; independent of other diseases.
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Essential character (Biol.), the prominent characteristics
which serve to distinguish one genus, species, etc., from
another.
Essential disease, Essential fever (Med.), one that is
not dependent on another.
Essential oils (Chem.), a class of volatile oils, extracted
from plants, fruits, or flowers, having each its
characteristic odor, and hot burning taste. They are used
in essences, perfumery, etc., and include many varieties
of compounds; as lemon oil is a terpene, oil of bitter
almonds an aldehyde, oil of wintergreen an ethereal
salt, etc.; -- called also volatile oils in distinction
from the fixed or nonvolatile.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Essential \Es*sen"tial\ ([e^]s*s[e^]n"sjal), n.
1. Existence; being. [Obs.] --Milton.
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2. That which is essential; first or constituent principle;
as, the essentials of religion.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
essential
adj 1: absolutely necessary; vitally necessary; "essential tools
and materials"; "funds essential to the completion of
the project"; "an indispensable worker" [syn: indispensable]
2: basic and fundamental; "the essential feature" [ant: inessential]
3: of the greatest importance; "the all-important subject of
disarmament"; "crucial information"; "in chess cool nerves
are of the essence" [syn: all-important(a), all
important(p), crucial, of the essence(p)]
4: being or relating to or containing the essence of a plant
etc; "essential oil"
5: applying to essential legal principles and rules of right;
"substantive law" [syn: substantive] [ant: adjective]
6: absolutely required and not to be used up or sacrificed
n : anything indispensable; "food and shelter are necessities of
life"; "the essentials of the good life"; "allow farmers
to buy their requirements under favorable conditions"; "a
place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can
be obtained" [syn: necessity, requirement, requisite,
necessary] [ant: inessential]
WordNet (r) 2.0
183 Moby Thesaurus words for "essential":
ab ovo, austere, axiom, bare, bare necessities, basal, basic,
basilar, bedrock, bench mark, brass tacks, call for, called for,
capital, cardinal, cardinal point, center, central, chaste, chief,
chief thing, climax, condition, congenital, connate, constituent,
constitutional, constitutive, core, cornerstone, crisis,
critical point, crux, deep-seated, demand, demand for,
desideration, desideratum, element, elemental, elementary, elixir,
essence, essential facts, essential matter, essentials, flower,
focal, focus, foremost, fundamental, gist, gravamen, great point,
gut, heart, high point, homely, homespun, homogeneous, hypostasis,
imperative, important, important thing, inborn, inbred, indicated,
indispensable, indivisible, innate, inner essence, intrinsic,
irreducible, irreductible, irreplaceable, issue, kernel, key,
keystone, landmark, leading, life-and-death, life-or-death, main,
main point, main thing, marrow, material, material point, meat,
mere, milestone, monolithic, must, must item, necessaries,
necessary, necessities, necessitous, necessity, need, need for,
needed, needful, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, occasion,
of a piece, of the essence, of vital importance, original,
part and parcel, pith, pivot, plain, postulate, prerequirement,
prerequisite, primal, primary, prime, primitive, principal,
principle, pure, pure and simple, quid, quiddity, quintessence,
quintessential, radical, real issue, required, requirement,
requisite, requisition, right-hand, rudiment, rudimentary,
salient point, sap, severe, simon-pure, simple, sine qua non,
single, soul, spare, spirit, stark, stuff, substance, substantial,
substantive, substantive point, the bottom line, the data,
the details, the dope, the facts, the information, the necessary,
the needful, the nitty-gritty, the particulars, the picture,
the point, the scoop, the score, the specifics, the whole story,
turning point, unadorned, uncluttered, underlying, undifferenced,
undifferentiated, unforgoable, uniform, vital, want, wanted
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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