Definitions for essence
ˈɛs ənsessence

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-gritty(noun)

   the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

   "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"

2. essence(noun)

   any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted

3. effect, essence, burden, core, gist(noun)

   the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

4. perfume, essence(noun)

   a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor

Wiktionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. essence(Noun)

   The inherent nature of a thing or idea.

2. essence(Noun)

   A significant feature of something.

3. essence(Noun)

   The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through a distillation process.

4. essence(Noun)

   Fragrance, a perfume.

5. essence(Noun)

   The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Essence(noun)

   the constituent elementary notions which constitute a complex notion, and must be enumerated to define it; sometimes called the nominal essence

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

2. Essence(noun)

   the constituent quality or qualities which belong to any object, or class of objects, or on which they depend for being what they are (distinguished as real essence); the real being, divested of all logical accidents; that quality which constitutes or marks the true nature of anything; distinctive character; hence, virtue or quality of a thing, separated from its grosser parts

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

3. Essence(noun)

   constituent substance

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

4. Essence(noun)

   a being; esp., a purely spiritual being

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

5. Essence(noun)

   the predominant qualities or virtues of a plant or drug, extracted and refined from grosser matter; or, more strictly, the solution in spirits of wine of a volatile or essential oil; as, the essence of mint, and the like

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

6. Essence(noun)

   perfume; odor; scent; or the volatile matter constituting perfume

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

7. Essence(verb)

   to perfume; to scent

   Etymology: [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See Is, and cf. Entity.]

Freebase(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Essence

   In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the entity or substance has contingently, without which the substance can still retain its identity. The concept originates with Aristotle, who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai, literally 'the what it was to be', or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti, literally 'the what it is,' for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for his Latin translators that they coined the word essentia to represent the whole expression. For Aristotle and his scholastic followers the notion of essence is closely linked to that of definition. In the history of western thought, essence has often served as a vehicle for doctrines that tend to individuate different forms of existence as well as different identity conditions for objects and properties; in this eminently logical meaning, the concept has given a strong theoretical and common-sense basis to the whole family of logical theories based on the "possible worlds" analogy set up by Leibniz and developed in the intensional logic from Carnap to Kripke, which was later challenged by "extensionalist" philosophers such as Quine.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Essence

   es′ens, n. the inner distinctive nature of anything: the qualities which make any object what it is: a being: the extracted virtues of any drug: the solution in spirits of wine of a volatile or essential oil: a perfume.—adj. Essen′tial, relating to or containing the essence: necessary to the existence of a thing: indispensable or important in the highest degree: highly rectified: pure.—n. something necessary: a leading principle.—n. Essential′ity, the quality of being essential: an essential part.—adv. Essen′tially.—n. Essen′tialness. [Fr.,—L. essentia—essens, -entis, assumed pr.p. of esse, to be.]

Editors Contribution(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. essence

   The just and fair qualities of the universes truth expressed through our body, brain, heart, mind, soul, spirit, subconscious, conscience and consciousness.

   The essence of our soul is the universes truth.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 16, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. essence

   Song lyrics by essence -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by essence on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'essence' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4832

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'essence' in Nouns Frequency: #1879

Anagrams for essence »

1. senesce

How to pronounce essence?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say essence in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of essence in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of essence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of essence in a Sentence

1. Jamie Zeitzer:

   In essence, using the night before you traveled from California to New York would move your circadian system two-thirds of the way there before you even left.

2. Ralph Waldo Emerson:

   Love is the essence of God.

3. Aberjhani:

   “A river is nearly the ultimate symbol for the very essence of change itself. It flows unceasingly from one point of being to another, yet continuously occupies the same bed or pathway, and accommodates life’s endings with the same musical grace with which it accommodates life’s beginnings, along with all the muted and explosive moments that surface between the two extremes.”

4. Thomas Carlyle:

   True humor springs not more from the head than from the heart. It is not contempt; its essence is love. It issues not in laugther, but in still smiles, which lie far deeper.

5. Roy Cooper:

   While North Carolina’s still too early to know the storm’s path, we know we have to be prepared, during harvest, time is of the essence. Action today can avoid losses due to Florence.

Images & Illustrations of essence

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