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Definitions

essential

[uh-sen-shuhl] / əˈsɛn ʃəl /
ADJECTIVE
important, vital
Synonyms
STRONGEST
crucial fundamental imperative important indispensable main necessary needed vital
STRONG
capital cardinal chief leading prerequisite principal requisite
WEAK
constitutive foremost must-have necessitous needful required right-hand wanted
Antonyms
STRONGEST
auxiliary extra inessential minor needless nonessential optional secondary subordinate trivial unimportant unnecessary voluntary
STRONG
inferior
WEAK
accessory atypical subsidiary
ADJECTIVE
basic, fundamental
Synonyms
STRONGEST
absolute constitutional elemental inherent intrinsic key main underlying
STRONG
cardinal cold ideal material nitty-gritty nub perfect primary prime primitive principal
WEAK
basal bottom-line complete congenital connate deep-seated elementary inborn inbred innate meat-and-potatoes quintessential substratal
Antonyms
STRONGEST
acquired extrinsic incidental inessential insignificant learned nonessential secondary unimportant
STRONG
flawed imperfect minor wrong
WEAK
accessory atypical auxiliary subsidiary
NOUN
necessity, basic
Synonyms
STRONGEST
condition element essence fundamental must precondition prerequisite principle requirement requisite
STRONG
ABCs groceries guts heart nitty-gritty quintessence rudiment stuff substance
WEAK
bottom line brass tacks fire and ice meat and potatoes name of the game nuts and bolts part and parcel sine qua non vital part where one's at
Antonyms
STRONGEST
extra
WEAK
accessory auxiliary nonessential subsidiary throwaway

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The campaign says online privacy should be taught as an essential life skill "as natural as teaching a child to cross the road".

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

Today’s humanoid robots may be klutzy and prohibitively expensive, but another quarter of a century of research will transform them into essential home assistants, says Brendan Englot, director of the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

When this signaling was blocked in lab models, tumor growth slowed considerably, showing how essential this interaction is.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

The episode exposed a fault line in Silicon Valley between engineers who viewed autonomous targeting as an ethical red line and defense officials who saw it as essential.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

If the men’s ideas didn’t work, the planes wouldn’t fly, so the women’s work was absolutely essential.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.