essential
essential Lexical Profile
essential Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Absolutely necessary; extremely important or indispensable.
"Access to clean drinking water is essential for human health and survival."
Fundamental or central to the true nature of something or someone.
"Despite the superficial changes to the layout, the essential character of the historic neighborhood remained intact."
(of a disease or medical condition) Having no known external stimulus or cause; idiopathic.
"The patient was diagnosed with essential hypertension and prescribed daily medication to manage her blood pressure."
• noun
A thing that is absolutely necessary or fundamental (usually used in the plural).
"Before departing for the camping trip, we double-checked our backpacks to ensure we had packed all the essentials."
• Rhymes for essential
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin essentialis, derived from essentia ('being, essence'), ultimately from the Latin verb esse ('to be').