quintessential

1 of 2

adjective

quin·​tes·​sen·​tial ˌkwin-tə-ˈsen(t)-shəl 

: perfectly typical or representative of a particular kind of person or thing

Jerry's your quintessential streetwise New Yorker …

—Kai Wright

This is the quintessential Los Angeles restaurant, casual but never frumpy, lively but not overheated …

—Harvey Steiman

Marx was the quintessential intellectual, remarkably detached from the real world.

—John Steele Gordon

: being a quintessence

His very faults were middling … It was not in his nature to be superlative in anything; unless, indeed, he was superlatively middling, the quintessential extract of mediocrity.

—George Eliot

quintessentially adverb

It is commonly accepted … that the rocking chair was an American invention, perhaps the most quintessentially American furniture form ever invented.

—Linda Rosenkrantz

There's no occupation more quintessentially macho than that of private detective.

—Cynthia Crossen

quintessential

2 of 2

noun

plural quintessentials

: a quintessential element : something that is a typical part or pure example

—usually plural

The quintessentials—ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard—that characterize classic American barbecue sauce can be found in this dish.

—Betty Rosbottom

The quintessentials of a culture become all the more noticeable and absorbing if they are perceived as in danger of disappearing or as an obstacle to progress that must disappear.

—Steve J. Stern

Did you know?

Quintessential and the Elements

The philosophers and scientists of the ancient world and the Middle Ages believed that the world we inhabit was entirely made up of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Aristotle added a fifth element, the aether or ether, by which he meant the material that fills the rest of space, mostly invisibly but sometimes taking the form of stars and planets. Many writers described the element as a kind of invisible light or fire. In the Middle Ages, it was referred to as the quinta essentia ("fifth element"). It isn't surprising that the quinta essentia came to stand for anything so perfect that it seemed to surpass the limitations of earth. Today we generally use quintessential rather freely to describe just about anything that represents the best of its kind.

Synonyms of quintessential

Adjective

• classic
• exemplary
• perfect
• archetypal
• definitive
• excellent

Examples of quintessential in a Sentence

Adjective

Helen of Troy was supposedly the quintessential beauty of the ancient world

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The 1,300 residents of Kandersteg, in Switzerland’s Bern canton, live amid a quintessential Alpine landscape of sharp peaks, white glaciers, steep green valleys and the distant sound of cowbells. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026

Other notable competition documentaries look at the quintessential 1990s UK band/fratricidal brother act Oasis; the Japanese dramatic art of kabuki, Nobel-winning author Jorge Luis Borges; and Russell Crowe’s What Love Builds. — David Bloom, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

When people think about the quintessential Texas food, barbecue ranks high, jostling with Tex-Mex for the top spot. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026

Thanks to recent developments, there are more reasons than ever to visit this quintessential California beach town off iconic Highway 1. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1551, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1853, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quintessential

• confidential
• differential
• evidential
• inessential
• inferential
• pestilential
• unessential
• equipotential
• experiential
• geopotential
• jurisprudential
• nonresidential