WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
non•es•sen•tial /ˌnɑnəˈsɛnʃəl/USA pronunciation adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- not necessary;
that can be done without:nonessential personnel.
non•es•sen•tial
(non′ə sen′shəl),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
- not essential;
not necessary:Nonessential use of gasoline was forbidden during the war.
n.
- a nonessential thing or person.
- non- + essential 1745–55
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged . unnecessary, incidental, extrinsic.
'nonessential' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
accidental
- amino acid
- aspartic acid
- bells and whistles
- extraneous
- facetious
- glutamic acid
- glycine
- gold-plating
- grace
- grace note
- histidine
- hydroxyproline
- inessential
- mode
- parasitism
- pin money
- purchase tax
- simple
- trivia
- tyrosine
- unessential