essence
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the most important quality or feature of something that makes it what it is.
the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.
Simple“The essence of his argument was that we need to protect the environment for our children.”
In context“The artist managed to capture the very essence of the rugged coastline using only a few bold strokes of charcoal.”
UsageOften used in the phrase 'in essence' to summarise a complex point.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a strong liquid taken from a plant or food, used for its smell or taste.
a concentrated substance or extract obtained from a plant, drug, or foodstuff by distillation or similar processes.
Simple“Add two drops of vanilla essence to the cake mixture for a better flavour.”
In context“The recipe requires a high-quality almond essence, as synthetic substitutes often fail to provide the necessary depth of aroma.”
UsageCommonly used in culinary and pharmaceutical contexts.
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
used to say that something is extremely important and must be done quickly.
a fixed idiomatic expression indicating that a particular factor, usually time, is a critical requirement.
Simple“Please send the documents immediately because time is of the essence.”
In context“In emergency surgery, time is of the essence, and every second saved increases the patient's chances of a full recovery.”
Teacher's tipThis is almost exclusively used with 'time' in professional or legal contexts.
“Spain is in essence joining the global shift towards digital, with fewer paper copies sold every year and all the leading national newspapers and many regional dailies turning to a subscription-based model to survive.”
“Each lineage, in essence, independently continued tweaking and enhancing how its ribosomes worked.”
From Middle English essence, from Middle French essence, from Latin essentia (“the being or essence of a thing”), from an artificial formation of esse (“to be”), to translate Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía, “being”), from ὤν (ṓn), present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “to be, exist”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.