Standard Lemma guide

quintessential

adj · noun · 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.

  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K W IH2 N T IH0 S EH1 N SH AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of the nature of a quintessence (in all senses); being or relating to the ultimate essence of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The fundamental essence of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

representing the perfect example of a class or quality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

PIE word *pénkwe From quintessence + -al.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 典型的 (diǎnxíng de) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Estonian: ülim — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Finnish: pohjimmainen — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Finnish: tyypillinen — of the nature of a quintessence
  • French: quintessentiel — of the nature of a quintessence
  • German: der Inbegriff des/der... — of the nature of a quintessence
  • German: von Grund auf — of the nature of a quintessence
  • German: durch und durch — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Greek: τελειότατος (teleiótatos) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Khmer: ខ្លឹមសារ (kləm saa) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Khmer: សារវន្ត (saara’ voan) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Khmer: សារគតិ (saara’ kea’te’) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Norwegian: ultimat — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Portuguese: quintessencial — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Portuguese: quinta-essencial — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Russian: существенный (suščestvennyj) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Russian: типи́чный (tipíčnyj) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Serbo-Croatian: tipičan — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Spanish: quintaesencial — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Yiddish: תּמציתדיק (tamtsesdik) — of the nature of a quintessence
  • Yiddish: עיקרדיק (ikerdik) — of the nature of a quintessence
Real reading context

quintessential in complete knowledge articles