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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

essentially en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
  • (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Late Latin essentiālisbor. English essential Middle English -ly English -ly English essentially From essential + -ly.

Meanings

  1. In an essential way. ▸ In essence: by nature.
    • A thin, crunchy lemon and thyme rosti was essentially the pimped-up aesthetic of the Kettle chip. That's OK. I like Kettle chips. 2011 December 18, Jay Rayner, “Restaurant review: Aurelia”, in The Observer, →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2022:
    • The beaver is a social creature, not just occasionally but essentially.
    • Near-synonyms: actually, at bottom, at heart, basically, fundamentally, characteristically, centrally, substantially; see also Thesaurus:fundamentally
    • A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever. 2012 March 14, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
  2. (broadly) In an essential way. ▸ In essence: in most ways that matter; in all ways that matter.
    • A: So you're saying, in other words, that he's greedy? B: Essentially, yes, that's what I'm saying.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most essentially Degree=Sup lexicographic
more essentially Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Antonyms

adventitiously · circumstantially · incidentally · fortuitously · happenstantially · by chance · by accident · by chance · accidentally · on accident · accidentally · coincidentally

Synonyms

basically · at bottom · inherently · essentially · chiefly · mostly · essentially · by definition · generally · in the end · substantially · substantively · at bottom · largely · primarily · in the end · in effect · by definition · in the large · substantially · in essence · in the main · innately · inherently · broadly · intrinsically · fundamentally · characteristically · feckly · fundamentally · in essence · in and of itself · essentially · all things considered · all in all · basically · altogether · intrinsically · at bottom · actually · per se · at heart · deep down · for the most part · substantially · basically · mainly · ultimately · innately · principally · deep down · fundamentally · naturally · by and large · fundamentally · as a rule · au fond · pretty well · at heart · quintessentially · more or less · overall · at heart · basically · au fond · in the final analysis · naturally · basically · predominantly · centrally · in the final analysis · on the whole · substantially · in effect · ultimately

Translations (51)

fi pohjimmiltaan (essentially) · de im Grunde (essentially) · da i sit inderste væsen (essentially) · fr en essence (essentially) · nb i bunn og grunn (essentially) · fi periaatteessa (essentially) · cmn 基本上 (essentially) · ro esențial (essentially) · es en esencia (essentially) · ru по существу́ (essentially) · uk по су́ті (essentially) · ru в су́щности (essentially) · sk esenciálne (essentially) · mt essenzjalment (essentially) · sv i grund och botten (essentially) · de im Kern (essentially) · it in essenza (essentially) · rsk сущно (essentially) · cmn 本質上 /本质上 (essentially) · pt em essência (essentially) · sh u suštini (essentially) · da i bund og grund (essentially) · pl zasadniczo (essentially) · frm en essence (essentially) · ru по су́ти (essentially) · es esencialmente (essentially) · hu lényegében (essentially) · de im Grunde genommen (essentially) · fi käytännössä (essentially) · sh u biti (essentially) · az mahiyyətcə (essentially) · fr essentiellement (essentially) · da grundlæggende (essentially) · eo esence (essentially) · pl w gruncie rzeczy (essentially) · ro în esență (essentially) · sk v podstate (essentially) · fo í botn og grund (essentially) · cmn 大體上 /大体上 (essentially) · pt essencialmente (essentially) · ru суть (essentially) · rsk у сущносци (essentially) · de im Wesentlichen (essentially) · hy ըստ էության (essentially) · nl essentieel (essentially) · ru есть (essentially) · fi perimmältään (essentially) · ca en essència (essentially) · nb dypest sett (essentially) · fi sisimmältään (essentially) · ru суще́ственно (essentially)