Definition of essential - WordReference.com Dictionary

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Adapted From: WordNet 2.0 Copyright 2003 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

essential
A	noun
	1	necessity, essential, requirement, requisite, necessary
			anything indispensable; "food and shelter are necessities of life"; "the essentials of the good life"; "allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions"; "a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained"
		Category Tree: entity ╚thing ╚necessity, essential, requirement, requisite, necessary ╚need; want ╚must ╚desideratum
B	adjective
	1	substantive, essential
			applying to essential legal principles and rules of right; "substantive law"

	2	essential
			basic and fundamental; "the essential feature"

	3	essential
			absolutely required and not to be used up or sacrificed

	4	all-important(a), all important(p), crucial, essential, of the essence(p)
			of the greatest importance; "the all-important subject of disarmament"; "crucial information"; "in chess cool nerves are of the essence"

	5	essential, indispensable
			absolutely necessary; vitally necessary; "essential tools and materials"; "funds essential to the completion of the project"; "an indispensable worker"

	6	essential
			being or relating to or containing the essence of a plant etc; "essential oil"