essentially


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.

es·sen·tial

 (ĭ-sĕn′shəl)
adj.
1. Constituting or being part of the nature or essence of something; inherent: "In that era of general good will ... few Americans doubted the essential goodness of their society" (David Halberstam).
2. Fundamentally important or necessary: essential ingredients. See Synonyms at indispensable.
3. Medicine Of, relating to, or being a condition or a disease whose cause is unknown: essential hypertension.
4. Biochemistry Being a substance that is required for normal functioning but cannot be synthesized by the body and therefore must be included in the diet: essential amino acids.
n.
1. Something fundamental.
2. Something necessary or indispensable.

es·sen′ti·al′i·ty (-shē-ăl′ĭ-tē), es·sen′tial·ness n.
es·sen′tial·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

essentially

(ɪˈsɛnʃəlɪ)
adv
in a fundamental or basic way; in essence
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adv.1.essentially - in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature; "He is basically dishonest"; "the argument was essentially a technical one"; "for all his bluster he is in essence a shy person"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

essentially

adverb
1. fundamentally, radically, basically, primarily, at heart, intrinsically, at bottom the belief that geniuses are essentially quite different from ordinary people
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

essentially

adverb
In regard to the essence of a matter:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
أساسِيَّا، جَوْهَرِيًّا
grundliggendei bund og grund
lényegében
í grundvallaratriîum
aslındaesasında

essentially

[ɪˈsenʃəlɪ] ADV
1. (= at bottom) → básicamente
essentially, it is a story of ordinary peoplebásicamente, es una historia de gente normal
she was essentially a generous personera básicamente or en esencia una persona generosa
2. (= on the whole) → en lo esencial, en lo fundamental
essentially, we agreeestamos de acuerdo en lo esencial or fundamental
his theory is essentially correctsu teoría es correcta en lo esencialfundamentalmente or en lo fundamental su teoría es correcta
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

essentially

[ɪˈsɛnʃəli] adv (= basically) → essentiellement
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

essentially

adv (= fundamentally)im Wesentlichen; (= basically, at heart)im Grunde genommen; essentially, they are saying that …im Wesentlichen sagen sie, dass …; she was an essentially good womanim Grunde genommen war sie eine gute Frau
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

essentially

[ɪˈsɛnʃlɪ] advessenzialmente, fondamentalmente
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

essential

(iˈsenʃəl) adjective
absolutely necessary. Strong boots are essential for mountaineering; It is essential that you arrive punctually.
noun
a thing that is fundamental or necessary. Everyone should learn the essentials of first aid; Is a television set an essential?
esˈsentially adverb
basically. She is an essentially selfish person.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
How essentially womanly--as I hope no one would call a pair of trousers essentially manly.
It remains essentially right, a pamphlet story--in support of the League to Enforce Peace.
The Boeotians, people of the class of which Hesiod represents himself to be the type, were essentially unromantic; their daily needs marked the general limit of their ideals, and, as a class, they cared little for works of fancy, for pathos, or for fine thought as such.
Thus in the music of the flute and of the lyre, 'harmony' and rhythm alone are employed; also in other arts, such as that of the shepherd's pipe, which are essentially similar to these.
They are essentially the art works of an older school than that of the Seven Sages.
Further recognition will follow in due course; but essentially a Landfall, good or bad, is made and done with at the first cry of "Land ho!" The Departure is distinctly a ceremony of navigation.
After the twenty-eighth of October when the frosts began, the flight of the French assumed a still more tragic character, with men freezing, or roasting themselves to death at the campfires, while carriages with people dressed in furs continued to drive past, carrying away the property that had been stolen by the Emperor, kings, and dukes; but the process of the flight and disintegration of the French army went on essentially as before.
The burnt skin and keen dark eyes contributed to this effect, though the bronze of the skin and the eyes themselves were essentially those of a white man.
On the one hand, many psychologists, especially those of the behaviourist school, tend to adopt what is essentially a materialistic position, as a matter of method if not of metaphysics.
The magnetic energy, as developed in the mariner's needle, is, as all know, essentially one with the electricity beheld in heaven; hence it is not to be much marvelled at, that such things should be.
I use these terms to distinguish this last case from another which might appear to resemble it, but which would, in fact, be essentially different; I mean where the exercise of a concurrent jurisdiction might be productive of occasional interferences in the POLICY of any branch of administration, but would not imply any direct contradiction or repugnancy in point of constitutional authority.
Each of them would have its commerce with foreigners to regulate by distinct treaties; and as their productions and commodities are different and proper for different markets, so would those treaties be essentially different.