Essence
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈɛsəns/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Essence is a noun meaning The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
Meaning
The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
More Meanings
- (philosophy) The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
- Constituent substance.
- A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.
- A significant feature of something.
- The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through an extraction or distillation process.
- An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative.
- Fragrance, a perfume.
Example Sentences
essence of Jojoba
The essence of Addison’s humour is irony.
CHARITY is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, ſays an old writer. Gifts and alms are the expreſſions, not the eſſence of this virtue.
He [Gottfried Wolfgang] had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences, until, like Swedenborg, he had an ideal world of his own around him.
Word Forms
- essences
Synonyms for essence
Depending on context, synonyms include quintessence, whatness, gist, crux, aroma, bouquet.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include substance, nitty-gritty, inwardness, gist, effect, sum.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.