essential

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: es=sen=tial
• COUNT in NET: 2 in 2 verses (in NT : 2 in 2 verses)

CIDE DICTIONARY

essential, a. [Cf. F. essentiel. See Essence.].

•  Belonging to the essence, or that which makes an object, or class of objects, what it is.  [1913 Webster]

  "Majestic as the voice sometimes became, there was forever in it an essential character of plaintiveness."  [1913 Webster]
•  Hence, really existing; existent.  [1913 Webster]

  "Is it true, that thou art but a name,
  And no essential thing?"  [1913 Webster]
•  Important in the highest degree; indispensable to the attainment of an object; indispensably necessary.  [1913 Webster]

  "Judgment's more essential to a general
  Than courage."  [1913 Webster]

  "How to live? -- that is the essential question for us."  [1913 Webster]
•  Containing the essence or characteristic portion of a substance, as of a plant; highly rectified; pure; hence, unmixed; as, an essential oil.  Ford.  [1913 Webster]
•  Necessary; indispensable; -- said of those tones which constitute a chord, in distinction from ornamental or passing tones.  [1913 Webster]
•  Idiopathic; independent of other diseases.  [1913 Webster]

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.

essential, n. 

•  Existence; being.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
•  That which is essential; first or constituent principle; as, the essentials of religion.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

essential, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 absolutely necessary; indispensable.
2 fundamental, basic.
3 of or constituting the essence of a person or thing.
4 (of a disease) with no known external stimulus or cause; idiopathic.
--n. (esp. in pl.) a basic or indispensable element or thing.

Idiom

essential element any of various elements required by living organisms for normal growth. essential oil a volatile oil derived from a plant etc. with its characteristic odour.

Derivative

essentiality n. essentially adv. essentialness n.

Etymology

ME f. LL essentialis (as ESSENCE)

THESAURUS

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

ROGET THESAURUS

essential

Existence

N existence, being, entity, ens, esse, subsistence, reality, actuality, positiveness, fact, matter of fact, sober reality, truth, actual existence, presence, coexistence, stubborn fact, hard fact, not a dream, no joke, center of life, essence, inmost nature, inner reality, vital principle, ontology, existing, existent, under the sun, in existence, extant, afloat, afoot, on foot, current, prevalent, undestroyed, real, actual, positive, absolute, true, substantial, substantive, self-existing, self-existent, essential, well-founded, well-grounded, unideal, unimagined, not potential, authentic, actually, in fact, in point of fact, in reality, indeed, de facto, ipso facto, ens rationis, ergo sum cogito, thinkest thou existence doth depend on time?.

Intrinsicality

N intrinsicality, inbeing, inherence, inhesion, subjectiveness, ego, egohood, essence, noumenon, essentialness, essential part, quintessence, incarnation, quiddity, gist, pith, marrow, core, sap, lifeblood, backbone, heart, soul, important part, principle, nature, constitution, character, type, quality, crasis, diathesis, habit, temper, temperament, spirit, humor, grain, disposition, endowment, capacity, capability, moods, declensions, features, aspects, peculiarities, idiosyncrasy, oddity, idiocrasy, diagnostics, derived from within, subjective, intrinsic, intrinsical, fundamental, normal, implanted, inherent, essential, natural, innate, inborn, inbred, ingrained, inwrought, coeval with birth, genetous, haematobious, syngenic, radical, incarnate, thoroughbred, hereditary, inherited, immanent, congenital, congenite, connate, running in the blood, ingenerate, ingenite, indigenous, in the grain, bred in the bone, instinctive, inward, internal, to the manner born, virtual, characteristic, invariable, incurable, incorrigible, ineradicable, fixed, intrinsically, at bottom, in the main, in effect, practically, virtually, substantially, au fond, fairly, character is higher than intellect, come give us a taste of your quality, magnos homines virtute metimur non fortuna, non numero haec judicantur sed pondere, vital spark of heavenly flame.

Requirement

N requirement, need, wants, necessities, necessaries, necessaries of life, stress, exigency, pinch, sine qua non, matter of necessity, case of need, case of life or death, needfulness, essentiality, necessity, indispensability, urgency, requisition, run upon, demand, call for, charge, claim, command, injunction, mandate, order, precept, desideratum, want, Adj, required, requisite, needful, necessary, imperative, essential, indispensable, prerequisite, called for, in demand, in request, urgent, exigent, pressing, instant, crying, absorbing, in want of, destitute of, ex necessitate rei, of necessity, there is no time to lose, it cannot be spared, it cannot be dispensed with, mendacem memorem esse oportet, necessitas non habet legem, nec tecum possum trivere nec sine te.

Importance

N importance, consequence, moment, prominence, consideration, mark, materialness, import, significance, concern, emphasis, interest, greatness, superiority, notability, weight, value, usefulness, gravity, seriousness, solemnity, no joke, no laughing matter, pressure, urgency, stress, matter of life and death, memorabilia, notabilia, great doings, red-letter day, great thing, great point, main chance, the be all and the end all, cardinal point, substance, gist, sum and substance, gravamen, head and front, important part, principal part, prominent part, essential part, half the battle, sine qua non, breath of one's nostrils, cream, salt, core, kernel, heart, nucleus, keynote, keystone, corner stone, trump card, salient points, top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna, chief, triton among the minnows, 'it', important, of importance, momentous, material, to the point, not to be overlooked, not to be despised, not to be sneezed at, egregious, weighty, of note, notable, prominent, salient, signal, memorable, remarkable, unforgettable, worthy of remark, worthy of notice, never to be forgotten, stirring, eventful, grave, serious, earnest, noble, grand, solemn, impressive, commanding, imposing, urgent, pressing, critical, instant, paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal, chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost, overruling, of vital importance in the front rank, first-rate, superior, considerable, marked, rare, significant, telling, trenchant, emphatic, pregnant, tanti, materially, in the main, above all, kat' exochin, par excellence, to crown all, to beat all, expende Hannibalem!.

Greatness

N greatness, magnitude, size, multitude, immensity, enormity, infinity, might, strength, intensity, fullness, importance, great quantity, quantity, deal, power, sight, pot, volume, world, mass, heap, stock, peck, bushel, load, cargo, cartload, wagonload, shipload, flood, spring tide, abundance, principal part, chief part, main part, greater part, major part, best part, essential part, bulk, mass, great, greater, large, considerable, fair, above par, big, huge, Herculean, cyclopean, ample, abundant, full, intense, strong, sound, passing, heavy, plenary, deep, high, signal, at its height, in the zenith, world-wide, widespread, far-famed, extensive, wholesale, many, goodly, noble, precious, mighty, sad, grave, heavy, serious, far gone, arrant, downright, utter, uttermost, crass, gross, arch, profound, intense, consummate, rank, uninitiated, red-hot, desperate, glaring, flagrant, stark staring, thorough-paced, thoroughgoing, roaring, thumping, extraordinary, important, unsurpassed, complete, august, grand, dignified, sublime, majestic, vast, immense, enormous, extreme, inordinate, excessive, extravagant, exorbitant, outrageous, preposterous, unconscionable, swinging, monstrous, overgrown, towering, stupendous, prodigious, astonishing, incredible, marvelous, unlimited, unapproachable, unutterable, indescribable, ineffable, unspeakable, inexpressible, beyond expression, fabulous, undiminished, unabated, unreduced, unrestricted, absolute, positive, stark, decided, unequivocal, essential, perfect, finished, remarkable, of mark, marked, pointed, veriest, noteworthy, renowned, truly, decidedly, unequivocally, purely, absolutely, seriously, essentially, fundamentally, radically, downright, in all conscience, for the most part, in the main, entirely, abundantly, widely, far and wide, greatly, much, muckle, well, indeed, very, very much, a deal, no end of, most, not a little, pretty, pretty well, enough, in a great measure, richly, to a large extent, to a great extent, to a gigantic extent, on a large scale, so, never so, ever so, ever so dole, scrap, shred, tag, splinter, rag, much, by wholesale, mighty, powerfully, with a witness, ultra, in the extreme, extremely, exceedingly, intensely, exquisitely, acutely, indefinitely, immeasurably, beyond compare, beyond comparison, beyond measure, beyond all bounds, incalculably, infinitely, preeminently, superlatively, immoderately, monstrously, preposterously, inordinately, exorbitantly, excessively, enormously, out of all proportion, with a vengeance, particularly, remarkably, singularly, curiously, uncommonly, unusually, peculiarly, notably, signally, strikingly, pointedly, mainly, chiefly, famously, egregiously, prominently, glaringly, emphatically, kat exochin, strangely, wonderfully, amazingly, surprisingly, astonishingly, incredibly, marvelously, awfully, stupendously, peculiarly, furiously, severely, desperately, tremendously, extravagantly, confoundedly, deucedly, devilishly, with a vengeance, a outrance, a toute outrance, painfully, sadly, grossly, sorely, bitterly, piteously, grievously, miserably, cruelly, woefully, lamentably, shockingly, frightfully, dreadfully, fearfully, terribly, horribly, a maximis ad minima, greatness knows itself, mightiest powers by deepest calms are fed, minimum decet libere cui multum licet, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.