essentially

adverb

es·​sen·​tial·​ly i-ˈsen(t)-shə-lē 

-ˈsench-lē

: in essence : fundamentally

—used to identify or stress the basic or essential character or nature of a person or thing or to say that a description is basically true or accurate

He's essentially a good man.

… painting, essentially a two-dimensional art …

—Herbert Read

The fact that so many bloggers are essentially anonymous allows them to spew rancor, rumor, lies, and obscenities.

—Gil Troy

Aphids feed on the sugary phloem of plants. Essentially they steal the product of photosynthesis.

—Caleb Rounds

Examples of essentially in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2025, World Tennis, the sport’s world governing body, changed the rules, allowing it essentially everywhere. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

After failing to secure a site in San Francisco, Lucas faced public opposition and a lawsuit in Chicago, with nonprofit Friends of the Parks arguing that his lakefront proposal would essentially privatize public land. — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026

One of the best actors working today, Coon essentially plays two different sides of Rita with astonishing range across these chronologies, portraying the past and the present of her character through distinctive markers. — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

But just as at any school, the students are then split into many more subcultures, starting with those in the co-ops—student-run living and dining communities that essentially stand in for Greek life. — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for essentially

• potentially
• circumferentially
• experientially
• confidentially
• exponentially
• inferentially