Synonyms of essence in English:


See definition of essence


1‘uncertainty is part of the very essence of economic activity’


quintessence, soul, spirit, ethos, nature, life, lifeblood, core, heart, centre, crux, nub, nucleus, kernel, marrow, meat, pith, gist, substance, principle, central part, fundamental quality, basic quality, essential part, intrinsic nature, sum and substance, reality, actuality

quiddity, esse

informal nitty-gritty

2‘essence of ginger’



scent, perfume


    in essence

      ‘for them society was in essence a collection of discrete individuals’


      basically, fundamentally, elementally, essentially, at bottom, at heart, primarily, principally, chiefly, firstly, predominantly, substantially, in substance, materially


      effectively, in effect, virtually, to all intents and purposes, intrinsically, inherently

      au fond



    of the essence

      ‘approval can take months when speed is not of the essence’


      vital, essential, indispensable, crucial, key, necessary, needed, required, called for, requisite, important, all-important, vitally important, of the utmost importance, of great consequence, critical, life-and-death, imperative, mandatory, compulsory, obligatory, urgent, pressing, burning, compelling, acute, paramount, pre-eminent, high-priority, significant, consequential