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4 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Essential \Es*sen"tial\ ([e^]s*s[e^]n"sjal), adjective [Cf. F. essentiel. See {Essence}.]
1. Belonging to the essence, or that which makes an object, or class of objects, what it is.
Majestic as the voice sometimes became, there was forever in it an essential character of plaintiveness. --Hawthorne.
2. Hence, really existing; existent.
Is it true, that thou art but a name, And no essential thing? --Webster (1623).
3. Important in the highest degree; indispensable to the attainment of an object; indispensably necessary.
Judgment's more essential to a general Than courage. --Denham.
How to live? -- that is the essential question for us. --H. Spencer.
4. Containing the essence or characteristic portion of a substance, as of a plant; highly rectified; pure; hence, unmixed; as, an essential oil. ''Mine own essential horror.'' --Ford.
5. (Mus.) Necessary; indispensable; -- said of those tones which constitute a chord, in distinction from ornamental or passing tones.
6. (Med.) Idiopathic; independent of other diseases.
{Essential character} (Biol.), the prominent characteristics which serve to distinguish one genus, species, etc., from another.
{Essential disease}, {Essential fever} (Med.), one that is not dependent on another.
{Essential oils} (Chem.), a class of volatile oils, extracted from plants, fruits, or flowers, having each its characteristic odor, and hot burning taste. They are used in essences, perfumery, etc., and include many varieties of compounds; as {lemon oil} is a terpene, {oil of bitter almonds} an aldehyde, {oil of wintergreen} an ethereal salt, etc.; -- called also {volatile oils} in distinction from the fixed or nonvolatile.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Essential \Es*sen"tial\ ([e^]s*s[e^]n"sjal), noun
1. Existence; being. [Obs.] --Milton.
2. That which is essential; first or constituent principle; as, the essentials of religion.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
essential
adjective
1: absolutely necessary; vitally necessary; "essential tools and materials"; "funds essential to the completion of the project"; "an indispensable worker" [syn: {indispensable}]
2: basic and fundamental; "the essential feature" [ant: {inessential}]
3: of the greatest importance; "the all-important subject of disarmament"; "crucial information"; "in chess cool nerves are of the essence" [syn: {all-important(a)}, {all important(p)}, {crucial}, {of the essence(p)}]
4: being or relating to or containing the essence of a plant etc; "essential oil"
5: applying to essential legal principles and rules of right; "substantive law" [syn: {substantive}] [ant: {adjective}]
6: absolutely required and not to be used up or sacrificed
noun: anything indispensable; "food and shelter are necessities of life"; "the essentials of the good life"; "allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions"; "a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained" [syn: {necessity}, {requirement}, {requisite}, {necessary}] [ant: {inessential}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
183 Moby Thesaurus words for "essential": ab ovo, austere, axiom, bare, bare necessities, basal, basic, basilar, bedrock, bench mark, brass tacks, call for, called for, capital, cardinal, cardinal point, center, central, chaste, chief, chief thing, climax, condition, congenital, connate, constituent, constitutional, constitutive, core, cornerstone, crisis, critical point, crux, deep-seated, demand, demand for, desideration, desideratum, element, elemental, elementary, elixir, essence, essential facts, essential matter, essentials, flower, focal, focus, foremost, fundamental, gist, gravamen, great point, gut, heart, high point, homely, homespun, homogeneous, hypostasis, imperative, important, important thing, inborn, inbred, indicated, indispensable, indivisible, innate, inner essence, intrinsic, irreducible, irreductible, irreplaceable, issue, kernel, key, keystone, landmark, leading, life-and-death, life-or-death, main, main point, main thing, marrow, material, material point, meat, mere, milestone, monolithic, must, must item, necessaries, necessary, necessities, necessitous, necessity, need, need for, needed, needful, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, occasion, of a piece, of the essence, of vital importance, original, part and parcel, pith, pivot, plain, postulate, prerequirement, prerequisite, primal, primary, prime, primitive, principal, principle, pure, pure and simple, quid, quiddity, quintessence, quintessential, radical, real issue, required, requirement, requisite, requisition, right-hand, rudiment, rudimentary, salient point, sap, severe, simon-pure, simple, sine qua non, single, soul, spare, spirit, stark, stuff, substance, substantial, substantive, substantive point, the bottom line, the data, the details, the dope, the facts, the information, the necessary, the needful, the nitty-gritty, the particulars, the picture, the point, the scoop, the score, the specifics, the whole story, turning point, unadorned, uncluttered, underlying, undifferenced, undifferentiated, unforgoable, uniform, vital, want, wanted
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. Audio provided by one of our generous visitors. - KM |