essentially

UK: /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

essentially / ɪˈsɛnʃəlɪ/ adverb

1. in a fundamental or basic way; in essence

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

es•sen•tial /əˈsɛnʃəl/   adj. 

1. absolutely necessary;
   that cannot be done without;
   indispensable:
   essential vitamins. Water is essential for life.
   [it + be + ~ + (that) clause]
   It is essential that you be at the meeting.
2. relating to the essence of a thing:
   [before a noun] The essential purpose of a vacation is to relax.

n. [countable]

3. a basic or necessary element;
   chief point:
   an essential of the job is promptness.
4. a basic or necessary item or thing:
   bare essentials like food and water.

es•sen•tial•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

es•sen•tial  (ə sen′shəl), adj. 

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
   • (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. Cf. removable (def. 2).

n. 

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

• Medieval Latin essenciālis for Late Latin essentiālis. See essence, -al¹
• Middle English essencial 1300–50

es•sen′tial•ly, adv. 
es•sen′tial•ness, n. 
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.