essential
essential
adjectiveDefinition of ESSENTIAL
1
impossible to do without <a well-stocked public library is essential for the well-being of a community>
Synonyms all-important, critical, imperative, indispensable, integral, must-have, necessary, necessitous, needed, needful, required, requisite, vital
Related Words prerequisite; compulsory, mandatory, nonelective, obligatory; consequential, crucial, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, weighty; basic, central, fundamental, key, organic; insistent, persistent, pressing, urgent
Phrases of the essence
Near Antonyms undesired, unwanted; inconsequential, insignificant, unimportant; excess, external, extra, extraneous, superfluous, surplus
2
of or relating to the simplest facts or theories of a subject <anyone with an essential knowledge of human biology can follow the documentary>
Synonyms abecedarian, basal, basic, beginning, elemental, essential, fundamental, introductory, meat-and-potatoes, rudimental, rudimentary, underlying
Related Words primal, primary, prime, simple; crude, primeval, primitive, primordial, rude, uncomplicated; preliminary, preparatory; crucial, important, key
Near Antonyms complex, sophisticated; complicated, convoluted, detailed, elaborate, extensive, intricate; developed, evolved, high, higher, refined
Antonyms advanced
3
being a part of the innermost nature of a person or thing <an unquenchable belief in the essential goodness of most people>
Synonyms built-in, constitutional, constitutive, essential, hardwired, immanent, inborn, inbred, indigenous, ingrain, ingrained (also engrained), innate, integral, intrinsic, native, natural
Related Words basic, deep-rooted, elemental, fundamental; congenital, hereditary, inherited, inmost, inner, interior; internal; characteristic, distinctive, peculiar; habitual, inveterate; normal, regular, typical
Near Antonyms alien, foreign; accidental, coincidental, incidental; acquired, adscititious; superficial, surface; exterior, external
