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

The goal is to take old batteries from EVs and other equipment to essentially mine them for their core critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. —Jordan Blum, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2025

The tactic led to extremely high casualty rates among Russian troops who were essentially being sent forward to be killed. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025

The tool would allow institutions to sell securities to the Fed with an agreement to repurchase them at a later time, essentially acting as a backstop for markets. —Pia Singh, CNBC, 16 Nov. 2025

So essentially, the aspect ratio of the lens wouldn’t cover the whole 35 mm negative. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 16 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for essentially

• potentially
• confidentially
• exponentially
• inferentially
• experientially