Standard Lemma guide

essentially

adv · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: EH0 S EH1 N SH AH0 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: IY0 S EH1 N SH AH0 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

In an essential way.

In essence: by nature.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: actually, at bottom, at heart, basically, fundamentally, characteristically, centrally, substantially; see also Thesaurus:fundamentally
  • The beaver is a social creature, not just occasionally but essentially.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inherently, intrinsically, innately, naturally, quintessentially, essentially, in and of itself, per se, actually, at bottom, at heart, basically, fundamentally, characteristically, centrally, substantially, au fond, by definition, deep down, in effect, in essence, in the end, in the final analysis, ultimately

Antonyms: circumstantially, happenstantially, incidentally, coincidentally, by chance, accidentally, adventitiously, by accident, fortuitously, on accident

2

adv

Meaning 2

In an essential way.

In essence: in most ways that matter; in all ways that matter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

Examples

  • A: So you're saying, in other words, that he's greedy? B: Essentially, yes, that's what I'm saying.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: basically, fundamentally, substantially, substantively, more or less, at bottom, at heart, au fond, by definition, deep down, essentially, in effect, in essence, in the end, in the final analysis, ultimately, all in all, all things considered, altogether, broadly, as a rule, by and large, chiefly, feckly, for the most part, generally, in the large, in the main, largely, mainly, mostly, on the whole, overall, predominantly, pretty well, primarily, principally

Antonyms: none provided

3

adverb

Meaning 3

in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • He is basically dishonest
  • the argument was essentially a technical one
  • for all his bluster he is in essence a shy person

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: basically, fundamentally

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

51 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ըստ էության (əst ēutʻyan) — essentially
  • Azerbaijani: mahiyyətcə — essentially
  • Catalan: en essència — essentially
  • Chinese Mandarin: 本質上 /本质上 (běnzhìshàng) — essentially
  • Chinese Mandarin: 基本上 (jīběnshàng) — essentially
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大體上 /大体上 (dàtǐshang) — essentially
  • Danish: i sit inderste væsen — essentially
  • Danish: i bund og grund — essentially
  • Danish: grundlæggende — essentially
  • Dutch: essentieel — essentially
  • Esperanto: esence — essentially
  • Faroese: í botn og grund — essentially
  • Finnish: pohjimmiltaan — essentially
  • Finnish: sisimmältään — essentially
  • Finnish: perimmältään — essentially
  • Finnish: periaatteessa — essentially
  • Finnish: käytännössä — essentially
  • French: essentiellement — essentially
  • French: en essence — essentially
  • Middle French: en essence — essentially
  • German: im Wesentlichen — essentially
  • German: im Grunde — essentially
  • German: im Kern — essentially
  • German: im Grunde genommen — essentially
  • Hungarian: lényegében — essentially
  • Italian: in essenza — essentially
  • Maltese: essenzjalment — essentially
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dypest sett — essentially
  • Norwegian Bokmål: i bunn og grunn — essentially
  • Pannonian Rusyn: у сущносци (u suščnosci) — essentially
  • Pannonian Rusyn: сущно (suščno) — essentially
  • Polish: zasadniczo — essentially
  • Polish: w gruncie rzeczy — essentially
  • Portuguese: em essência — essentially
  • Portuguese: essencialmente — essentially
  • Romanian: esențial — essentially
  • Romanian: în esență — essentially
  • Russian: по существу́ (po suščestvú) — essentially
  • Russian: суще́ственно (suščéstvenno) — essentially
  • Russian: по су́ти (po súti) — essentially
  • Russian: в су́щности (v súščnosti) — essentially
  • Russian: есть (jestʹ) — essentially
  • Russian: суть (sutʹ) — essentially
  • Serbo-Croatian: u biti — essentially
  • Serbo-Croatian: u suštini — essentially
  • Slovak: v podstate — essentially
  • Slovak: esenciálne — essentially
  • Spanish: esencialmente — essentially
  • Spanish: en esencia — essentially
  • Swedish: i grund och botten — essentially
  • Ukrainian: по су́ті (po súti) — essentially
Real reading context

essentially in complete knowledge articles

Die Son Language & communication · Challenging · 1 uses Luciobarbus Science & nature · Advanced · 1 uses Nuclear orientation Science & nature · Advanced · 1 uses Otter Tail Lake Places & the world · Developing · 1 uses Run for the Diamonds Places & the world · Developing · 1 uses The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad Literature & books · Challenging · 1 uses Thomas Chitty (lawyer) History & culture · Advanced · 1 uses