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
Herbert ReadThe fact that so many bloggers are essentially anonymous allows them to spew rancor, rumor, lies, and obscenities.—Gil Troy
Gil TroyAphids feed on the sugary phloem of plants. Essentially they steal the product of photosynthesis.—Caleb Rounds
Caleb RoundsExamples of essentially in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Imagine trying to build a sturdy wall with bricks that keep floating away into thin air—that’s essentially what happens when cathode material dissolves in a thermal battery.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 12 Jan. 2026
The Cabeys won a forty-three-million-dollar judgment against Goetz—an amount that was, given Goetz’s scant resources, essentially comical.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
In these sectors, while unemployment hasn’t surged, hiring has essentially been frozen for the past year, especially for entry-level roles, as firms juggle worries over economic uncertainty and AI fears.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 12 Jan. 2026
Even after seeing the Hawks essentially forced into salary-dumping four-time All-Star Trae Young to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, the Grizzlies weren’t scared away from fielding calls.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
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Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 12 Jan. 2026
The Cabeys won a forty-three-million-dollar judgment against Goetz—an amount that was, given Goetz’s scant resources, essentially comical.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
In these sectors, while unemployment hasn’t surged, hiring has essentially been frozen for the past year, especially for entry-level roles, as firms juggle worries over economic uncertainty and AI fears.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 12 Jan. 2026
Even after seeing the Hawks essentially forced into salary-dumping four-time All-Star Trae Young to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, the Grizzlies weren’t scared away from fielding calls.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for essentially
Cite this Entry
“Essentially.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essentially. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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