- [uncountable] the most important quality or feature of something, that makes it what it is
- His paintings capture the essence of France.
- in essence In essence (= when you consider the most important points), your situation isn't so different from mine.
Extra Examples- His paintings embody the very essence of the immediate post-war years.
- His theory was not new in essence.
- His work misses the essence of what Eastern religion is about.
- The freedom to pick your leaders is the essence of a democracy.
- The girl has her own spiritual essence.
- They distilled the essence of their message into three principles.
- Like so many peasant foods, the essence of pasta is its simplicity.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- real
- true
- very
- …
- capture
- distil
- embody
- …
- in essence
- essence of
- of the essence
Definitions on the go
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- [uncountable, countable] a liquid taken from a plant, etc. that contains its smell and taste in a very strong form
- essence of rose
- (British English) coffee/vanilla/almond essence
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- almond
- coffee
- vanilla
- …
- drop
- add
- use
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin essentia, from esse ‘be’.
Idioms
See essence in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee essence in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishof the essence
- necessary and very important
- In this situation time is of the essence (= we must do things as quickly as possible).
Check pronunciation:
essence