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essentially

[uh-sen-shuhl]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

absolutely necessary; indispensable: Discipline is essential in an army.

pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.

noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.

being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous: essential happiness.

Mathematics.

(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.

(of a discontinuity) noting that the function is discontinuous and has no limit at the point. Compare removable (def. 2).

noun

a basic, indispensable, or necessary element; chief point: Concentrate on essentials rather than details.

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Essentially is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Origin:
1300–50; Middle English essencial < Medieval Latin essenciālis for Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al¹

Related forms

es·sen·tial·ly, adverb

es·sen·tial·ness, noun

pre·es·sen·tial, noun, adjective

pre·es·sen·tial·ly, adverb

qua·si-es·sen·tial, adjective

EXPAND

qua·si-es·sen·tial·ly, adverb

sub·es·sen·tial, adjective

sub·es·sen·tial·ly, adverb

sub·es·sen·tial·ness, noun

COLLAPSE

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. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To essentially

Example Sentences

Such cancers are essentially incurable so the best that current treatments can do is extend a patient's life.

No state college for you even though you are essentially a dimbo.

The carry trade is essentially a bet on lower volatility.

EXPAND

Such cancers are essentially incurable so the best that current treatments can do is extend a patient's life.

No state college for you even though you are essentially a dimbo.

The carry trade is essentially a bet on lower volatility.

Males emus and rheas essentially raise their hatchlings alone.

Both are essentially spinning wings that stay aloft thanks to aerodynamic lift and gyroscopic stability.

The bottom unit consisted essentially of four landing struts equipped with a retrorocket to cushion the descent.

Richlite is essentially nonporous and can be finished with mineral oil.

Physics essentially deals with the fundamental stuff.

The names may change, but the face remains essentially the same.

Rankings are essentially one-dimensional, since each indicator is considered independently.

Essentially they have created a sort of glorified life-cycle fund that makes use of the theory of present discounted value.

Previously found baby mammoths had been unhealthy and essentially starved, he said.

The bacterial research showed that genes are essentially divided into two functionally distinct regions.

If you look at food, food essentially is how people sustain life.

Almost every room has a balcony or deck, accentuating the treehouse feel and essentially doubling the living space.

Sit too far away and you're essentially paying for performance you won't be able to see.

Dragging a clip into a folder essentially applies a new keyword to it.

She had gone about her business in the college fitness center essentially unnoticed.

With essentially one tax-funded customer per country-the government-that hardly matters.

Northern brachyrhynchos and eastern and southern palus are essentially inseparable.

Modern human babies are essentially learning machines.

But scientists believe that the rate of rise was essentially the same for several thousand years: about one millimeter per year.

The process of making the two is essentially the same, but they don't taste alike.

These orcas are essentially left with a diseased mouth.

Some saw the tests as essentially deterrent in nature.

In the latter connection, the work is essentially negative.

His approach, in flat prose, is essentially narrative with a minimum of interpretation.

The two mountain gorilla habitats are essentially ecological islands, separated and surrounded by a sea of people.

And this comment applies to essentially all current scientific theories.

Essentially overnight, people began making copies at a rate that was orders of magnitude higher than anyone had believed possible.

Just five years later, he had fleshed out his new sport, which is essentially hockey played along the bottom of a swimming pool.

It came up with a material that essentially cleans itself, minimizing the need for maintenance.

The faculty protesters said the proposal was essentially old wine in a new bottle.

Stimulus' contribution to growth is essentially finished.

The model is essentially a set of equations that describe the physics of the geodynamo.

Fuel cell vehicles are essentially a different kind of electric car.

The boeuf bourguignon was essentially the same thing, and so were the pastries.

Neil's explanation was essentially that the tides are caused by the moon.

It essentially says that any three-dimension space without holes in it is a sphere.

It would be meaningful if congress were asked to vote on legislation that would essentially force them to tax.

Those diameters are, indeed, so slight that the wires are essentially one-dimensional.

In a final experiment, the researchers shut off the fuel supply to the yeast cell, essentially killing it.

The genetic flaw caused him to age prematurely and die essentially of old age before completing puberty.

The company that essentially created the netbook phenomenon has hardly been one to rest on its laurels.

The unsecured creditor is essentially now providing a limited facility to allow a bank to work through its problem.

In the eastern part of their range they have been essentially wiped out, the biologist said.

When you put the oil into the engine, it is essentially degraded by heating it, and is also oxidized.

In introductory physics, the textbook essentially has all the models the students will use.

But its members know they are essentially self-selected.

The nanosheet is essentially an electric sandwich of metal layers and semiconducting particles.

Either one of the above ways essentially gets you the same equation of motion.

Comets are essentially dirty snowballs, composed of dust and ice that circle the sun.

The conservationists have essentially taken on the role of all three, creating serious conflicts of interest.

They are essentially paid to be your mother--they nag and train.

While lesser country are essentially under their mercy.

The roots essentially form a wall of steel that prevents erosion-prone slopes from slipping away.

It was essentially done by the president himself, with the advice of these advisers”.

That's why pro gator hunters carry a bang stick, essentially a bullet.

Kuehn may have a property right to the proof of her degree, which is essentially worthless without the university's paperwork.

Kristianstad and the surrounding county essentially no longer use oil, gas or coal to heat homes and businesses.

Padron's commentary is that it is essentially inaccurate.

All the generated light rays that went sideways or downward, for example, were essentially lost.

The engineers have essentially found a way to double network throughput without changing the network itself.

It's essentially my no-holds-barred summer guacamole with sundried tomatoes replacing the fresh ones.

How can the company possibly justify this quite ludicrous markup on what is essentially a tube.

The brownstone fronts will remain, essentially as false fronts behind which the new tower will rise.

Once computers have essentially become bits of software, getting new ones up and running takes minutes, not weeks.

Black bears are essentially shy creatures, but are drawn to humans by food.

Known as graphene, it is essentially a carbon nanotube unfurled.

And so by moving quickly they essentially got locked into place into the diamond structure.

EBay can essentially follow that person's activities in.

Going abroad is essentially that element of risk-taking.

ALl told, the government contribution to output was essentially nil.

The water flowed into drains surrounding the tap and froze, essentially wasted.

She was a middle-aged woman essentially on her own.

They were written from essentially the same standpoint.

Essentially unique among primates, humans consume a large amount of meat.

For those unfamiliar with gymnastics, the kip is essentially a move where a gymnast goes from a position.

The changes would essentially make it easier for towns and villages to cite landlords for housing code violations.

Some comprehensive college-sponsored health plans essentially operate as large employer-sponsored plans.

The fire service has long been regarded by politicians and civil servants as essentially unreformable.

Each marker is essentially the beginning of a new lineage on the family tree of the human race.

Measuring the spread is essentially measuring the space occupied by any two points on.

Fruit-eating bats essentially soak their teeth in sugar all the time and yet they don't have cavities.

It told of a colossal battle between two essentially identical armies of robots.

As it turned out, nearly all were essentially oblivious.

The dissertation and research components may be essentially identical.

And so the household may stay put, essentially conceding that the male half will remain unemployed for the foreseeable future.

But all the minor varieties of cultivated banana are essentially sterile, genetically uniform clones.

It would seem that evolution is impossible now that the ability to reproduce is essentially universally available.

The point is that this is a car coming out of the screen and there are essentially only two forces acting on it.

Those figures would essentially rule out a connection with the plant.

Minnesotans seem to be finally realizing that gay marriage is not a threat and is essentially a matter of human rights.

After all, this is essentially a cyclical business in which prices habitually yo-yo.

Other devices are essentially microphones that scientists clip onto to the branch.

Psychiatric treatments are thus essentially serendipitous: helpful for many but rarely illuminating.

Apple almost went under trying to pioneer handheld technology that essentially over-promised what it could.

When you throw a snowball, there are essentially two forces on the ball while in air.

Reject and encourage resubmission is essentially a more severe version of revise and resubmit.

These job-saving schemes were essentially bets on a short recession.

The few plants and animals that live in the harsh conditions of the tundra are essentially clinging to life.

It is a bit surprising to see this hypothesis is not even mentioned on the article that is essentially speculative.

CDs have essentially replaced floppies and magnetic tapes.

Because they think they can get away with it, and essentially they are getting away with it.

Spanish public workers essentially cannot be sacked.

The islands are essentially jungle gyms full of things to climb and play with, ensuring the apes can keep busy.

The problem with an essentially capitalistic society is that having money is considered to be of prime importance.

One furnace company rep told me that many of the name brands are made by the same manufacturer and are essentially the same.

Comedians hang out back stage essentially trying to gross each other out with their versions of the joke.

But only time will tell because there is essentially no information coming out of the reactor facility.

Essentially unlimited funds for construction of a new campus.

And it's the protons-which are essentially acid-that the sour-sensitive cells seem to sense.

Commercial debt financing is essentially nonexistent in the current.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

essentially (ɪˈsɛnʃəlɪ)

—*adv*
	in a fundamental or basic way; in essence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

essential

mid-14c., "that is such by its essence," from L.L. essentialis, from essentia (see essence). Meaning "pertaining to essence" is from late 14c., that of "constituting the essence of something" is from 1540s; that of "necessary" is from 1520s. Essentials "indispensible elements"

EXPAND

is from early 16c. Related: Essentially; essentialism (1939); essentialist..

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

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

Constituting or being part of the essence of something; inherent.
Basic or indispensable; necessary.
Of, relating to, or being a dysfunctional condition or a disease whose cause is unknown.
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.

Something fundamental.
Something necessary or indispensable.

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

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Matching Quote

"Twentieth-century art may start with nothing, but it flourishes by virtue of its belief in itself, in the possibility of control over what seems essentially uncontrollable, in the coherence of the inchoate, and in its ability to create its own values."

-A. Alvarez

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