essence

1 the quality or qualities that make a thing what it is the belief that power ultimately rests with the people is the very essence of democracy Synonyms being, essentiality, nature, quiddity, quintessence, soul, stuff, substance Related Words heart, spirit; alpha and omega, center, core, keynote, marrow, pith, seat; embodiment, epitome, incarnation, manifestation, personification; aspect, attribute, feature, property; gist, kernel, nub Phrases name of the game

2 the central part or aspect of something under consideration presented the essence of weeks of testimony in a 20-minute appeal to the jury Synonyms bottom line, bull's-eye, centerpiece, core, crux, gist, heart, kernel, keynote, meat, meat and potatoes, net, nub, nubbin, nucleus, pith, pivot, point, root, sumRelated Words course, direction, drift, tenor; body, content, substance; hypothesis, proposition, purport, subject, theme, thesis