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

That means his path to the Dodgers’ postseason roster will likely be as a left-handed bat off the bench, essentially the role the club envisioned for Dalton Rushing before his most recent IL stint. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

The hacker essentially launched a massive internet scan that hunted for a way into the company’s network. — J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 16 Sep. 2026

Laws used to criminalize dissent remain in force, intelligence and security agencies retain essentially the same structures and practices, and authorities have taken no steps to disarm or dismantle the colectivos. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026

Eliza was essentially a list of keywords and a set of transformation rules. — Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for essentially

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