inessential

Noun · Adjective

Open English WordNet

Noun (1)

  1. anything that is not essential“they discarded all their inessentials”Synonyms: nonessentialOpposite necessityType of thingKinds adjunct

Adjective (2)

  1. not basic or fundamentalSynonyms: unessentialOpposite essentialSimilar accessorial, adscititious, incidentalRelates to essentiality, essentialnessSee also dispensable, expendable, unimportant, extrinsic, unnecessary, secondary
  2. not absolutely necessaryOpposite necessarySimilar unnecessary, unneeded
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

In′es·sen′tial adjective

Origin: Pref. in- not + essential: cf. F. inessentiel.

1. Having no essence or being. Henry Brooke

The womb of inessential Naught.— Shelley.

2. Not essential; not required to achieve a given purpose; unessential; unnecessary.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC

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