as in unnecessary
not needed by the circumstances or to accomplish an end
he writes very spare prose, with nary an inessential word to be found
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Recent Examples of inessential
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Elio
The Bottom Line Cute but inessential.
—
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2025
And even among the series' die-hard fans, most will admit that there are storylines, characters, or entire books that feel inessential or annoying or repetitive or sloggy or wheel-spinning.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
While Lamont points with pride to the large surpluses achieved during his tenure, critics say these weren’t inessential funds but rather were leeched from core programs that have been dangerously undermined.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
When photography went digital, photo lab technicians and manual retouchers were suddenly as inessential as medieval scribes.
—Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inessential
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2025
And even among the series' die-hard fans, most will admit that there are storylines, characters, or entire books that feel inessential or annoying or repetitive or sloggy or wheel-spinning.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
While Lamont points with pride to the large surpluses achieved during his tenure, critics say these weren’t inessential funds but rather were leeched from core programs that have been dangerously undermined.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
When photography went digital, photo lab technicians and manual retouchers were suddenly as inessential as medieval scribes.
—Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inessential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inessential
unnecessary
Adjective
-
For locals, these sheltered passages can also make surfacing almost unnecessary.—
Vivian Song,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
But their efforts are not enough to save this unnecessary sequel that smacks of a cash grab.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inessential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inessential. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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