inessential

[ in-i-sen-shuhl ]
See synonyms for: inessentialinessentiality on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. not essential; not necessary; nonessential.

  2. without essence; insubstantial.

noun
  1. that which is not essential.

Origin of inessential

1
First recorded in 1670–80; in-3 + essential

Other words from inessential

  • in·es·sen·ti·al·i·ty, noun

Words Nearby inessential

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use inessential in a sentence

  • Critics claimed pharmaceutical companies engaged in manipulative marketing, pushed “inessential” medications and charged astronomically high drug prices, especially in the global South.

  • Frailties like that seem inessential when it comes time to review a whole lifetime's contributions.

  • It is inessential here to recount the details of these movements.

  • The critics of the preceding generations wasted their energies upon inessential details.

    The English Stage | Augustin Filon
  • To remove externals from us, to rid our minds of the illusive and the inessential, is simply to clear us for action.

    The Hive | Will Levington Comfort
  • We may ignore such inessential accretions, and confine ourselves to the beliefs which all mystics share.

  • The secret of my strength is my ability to reject every element that is harmful or inessential to the completion of my self.

    The House of the Vampire | George Sylvester Viereck

British Dictionary definitions for inessential

inessential

/ (ˌɪnɪˈsɛnʃəl) /


adjective
  1. not necessary

noun
  1. anything that is not essential

Derived forms of inessential

  • inessentiality, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012