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essential

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Essential
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es⋅sen⋅tial

  [uh-sen-shuhl]
Use essential in a Sentence
–adjective
1. absolutely necessary; indispensable: Discipline is essential in an army.
2. pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.
3. noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.
4. being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous: essential happiness.
5. Mathematics.
a. (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.
b. (of a discontinuity) noting that the function is discontinuous and has no limit at the point. Compare removable (def. 2).
–noun
6. a basic, indispensable, or necessary element; chief point: Concentrate on essentials rather than details.
Origin:
1300–50; ME essencial < ML essenciālis for LL essentiālis. See essence, -al 1

Related forms:
es⋅sen⋅tial⋅ly, adverb
es⋅sen⋅tial⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. fundamental, basic, inherent, intrinsic, vital. See necessary. 2. 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.

Antonyms:
2. incidental, extraneous, extrinsic; accidental.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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es·sen·tial   (ĭ-sěn'shəl)   
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.

es·sen'ti·al'i·ty (-shē-āl'ĭ-tē), es·sen'tial·ness n., es·sen'tial·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: es·sen·tial
Pronunciation: i-'sen-ch&l
Function: adjective
1 : being, relating to, or containing an essence essential odor>
2 : having no obvious or known cause : IDIOPATHIC<essential disease>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

essential es·sen·tial (ĭ-sěn'shəl)
adj.

  1. Constituting or being part of the essence of something; inherent.

  2. Basic or indispensable; necessary.

  3. Of, relating to, or being a dysfunctional condition or a disease whose cause is unknown.

  4. Of, relating to, or being a substance that is required for normal functioning but cannot be synthesized by the body and therefore must be included in the diet.

n.

  1. Something fundamental.

  2. Something necessary or indispensable.

es·sen'ti·al'i·ty (-shē-āl'ĭ-tē) or es·sen'tial·ness n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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