| / English Dictionary |
ESSENTIAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Anything indispensable
Example:
a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained
Synonyms:
essential; necessary; necessity; requirement; requisite
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("essential" is a kind of...):
thing (a separate and self-contained entity)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "essential"):
desideratum (something desired as a necessity)
must (a necessary or essential thing)
need; want (anything that is necessary but lacking)
Antonym:
inessential (anything that is not essential)
Derivation:
essential (absolutely necessary; vitally necessary)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Defining rights and duties as opposed to giving the rules by which rights and duties are established
Example:
substantive law
Synonyms:
essential; substantive
Classified under:
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Derivation:
essentialness (basic importance)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Basic and fundamental
Example:
the essential feature
Classified under:
Similar:
life-sustaining; vital (performing an essential function in the living body)
virtual (existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact)
substantial; substantive (of or relating to the real nature or essential elements of something)
staple (necessary or important, especially regarding food or commodities)
no-frills (characterized by the absence of inessential features)
must (highly recommended)
constituent; constitutional; constitutive; organic (constitutional in the structure of something (especially your physical makeup))
biogenic (essential for maintaining the fundamental life processes)
Also:
crucial; important (of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis)
indispensable (not to be dispensed with; essential)
unexpendable (not suitable to be expended)
important; of import (of great significance or value)
intrinsic; intrinsical (belonging to a thing by its very nature)
necessary (absolutely essential)
primary (of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary)
Attribute:
essentiality; essentialness (basic importance)
Antonym:
inessential (not basic or fundamental)
Derivation:
essentiality; essentialness (basic importance)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of the greatest importance
Example:
in chess cool nerves are of the essence
Synonyms:
all-important; all important; crucial; essential; of the essence
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
important; of import (of great significance or value)
Derivation:
essence (the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience)
essentiality; essentialness (basic importance)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Absolutely necessary; vitally necessary
Example:
an indispensable worker
Synonyms:
essential; indispensable
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
necessary (absolutely essential)
Derivation:
essential (anything indispensable)
essentialness (basic importance)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Being or relating to or containing the essence of a plant etc
Example:
essential oil
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Pertainym:
essence (any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted)
Derivation:
essence (any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted)
essentialness (basic importance)
Context examples:
They have been an essential ingredient of children’s reading ever since.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Start to pack some of the essentials a few days before you go.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
At least I have got a grip of the essential facts of the case.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Now it is essential—essential, I say—that I should thoroughly understand it.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The internal ear; the essential part of the organ of hearing.
(Murine Inner Ear, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Present in minute amounts in various foods, vitamins are essential to maintaining normal metabolism and biochemical functions.
(Multivitamin, NCI Thesaurus)
GBM stem-like cells contain a specific range of antigens that are essential for the neoplastic growth and survival of GBM cells.
(Allogeneic Glioblastoma Stem-like Cell Line Lysate-pulsed Autologous Dendritic Cell Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)
You wanted to write about life when you knew nothing of the essential characteristics of life.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Maintaining the integrity of the gastrointestinal tract despite the continual presence of microbial flora and injurious agents is essential.
(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
This gene is involved in the mediation of protein-protein interactions that are essential for cell cycle regulation.
(MNAT1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
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