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essence

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈɛs^əns/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈɛsəns/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(es′əns)

es•sence /ˈɛsəns/USA pronunciation n.

the basic, unchanging nature of a thing;
the substance that gives something identity:[uncountable]The essence of civilized behavior is courtesy.
the basic meaning of something;
main point:[uncountable]The essence of his speech was that we must all work harder.
a concentrated substance made from a plant, drug, or the like:[countable* uncountable]essence of brandy.

Idioms

Idioms in essence, essentially;
basically:What she said, in essence, is that all will be well.

Idioms of the essence, absolutely essential;
crucial:It is of the essence that you attend that meeting.

es•sence (es′əns),USA pronunciation n.

the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features:Freedom is the very essence of our democracy.
a substance obtained from a plant, drug, or the like, by distillation, infusion, etc., and containing its characteristic properties in concentrated form.
an alcoholic solution of an essential oil;
spirit.
a perfume;
scent.
[Philos.]the inward nature, true substance, or constitution of anything, as opposed to what is accidental, phenomenal, illusory, etc.
something that exists, esp. a spiritual or immaterial entity.
Idioms in essence, essentially;
at bottom, often despite appearances:For all his bluster, he is in essence a shy person.
Idioms of the essence, absolutely essential;
critical;
crucial:In chess, cool nerves are of the essence.

Medieval Latin, for Latin essentia. See esse, -ence
Middle English essencia 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

essence /ˈɛs^əns/ n

the characteristic or intrinsic feature of a thing, which determines its identity; fundamental nature
a perfect or complete form of something, esp a person who typifies an abstract quality
the unchanging and unchangeable nature of something which is necessary to its being the thing it is; its necessary properties
- the constituent of a plant, usually an oil, alkaloid, or glycoside, that determines its chemical or pharmacological properties
- an alcoholic solution of such a substance
a substance, usually a liquid, containing the properties of a plant or foodstuff in concentrated form: vanilla essence
in essence ⇒ essentially; fundamentally
of the essence ⇒ indispensable; vitally important

Etymology: 14th Century: from Medieval Latin essentia, from Latin: the being (of something), from esse to be

'essence' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

anchovy - Baeck - basically - bergamot - Bodhisattva - comedown - consubstantial - decoction - decoct - distil - distillate - distillation - essentially - extract - Feuerbach - form - fundamentally - Jesus - marrow - meat - nutshell - principle - quintessence - ratafia - seedcake - seethe - spirit - substance - sum - summary - virtual - abstract - act - activism - analyze - anthropology - arabinose - being - burden - coessential - compose - core - crux - cynic - essence d'orient - essence of bergamot - essential - essentialize - flavor - gist

In Lists: Dictionary of feelings, intentions, behaviour... , more...

Synonyms: soul, core, heart, root, nature, more...

Collocations: [human, spiritual, pure] essence, the essence of the [speech, book, story], the [book's, story's, movie's] essence is lost, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "essence" in the title:

a ladle of steel – the very essence of metal. [use dash "–"]
as her specialization in the ethics of reciprocation would later -when she indeed did dedicate her oeuvre, in essence, to ‘the rational...
At its essence
become imbued with <our essence>
being reduced to a bodily essence in abject fluids
capture the essence
concerns the very essence of human life
delivery of the concentrated essence
distil a sentence into its essence
distillate / essence
Distilled to the essence
draw essence from
efficiency is of the essence
Essence game
essence or nature
essence which implies
essence, quintessence, of Englishness as she understood it
essence/axis
extract the <extract><essence>
In essence / In its essence
in fact vs. in essence
judge anything's essence by first observations
of the essence for/to making…
shall be the essence of the Contract
singular or plural: the essence of both are/is the same
substance/essence of the verdict
subsumed the very essence
taking it in its essence
the essence comes back
The <essence> is ...
more...

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⇱ essence - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

essence