essence

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. being, substance, element, entity, reality, nature, life; extract, distillation; perfume; principle, inwardness; sense, gist, core, kernel, pith, quintessence, heart, purport. See extraction, odor, importance, intrinsic.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Fundamental nature]

Syn. pith, core, kernel, gist, root, nature, basis, being, essential quality, spirit, sum and substance, reality, quintessence, constitution, substance, binder, filler, nucleus, vital part, base, chief constituent, primary element, germ, heart, marrow, backbone, caliber, soul, lifeblood, bottom, life, grain, structure, principle, vein, character, fundamentals; see also characteristic .

2. [A distilled spirit]

Syn. concentrate, extract, elixir, distillation, juice, spirit(s), tincture, liquor, alcohol, ammonia, potion, drug, drops, perfume, fragrance, scent.

• in essence,

Syn. fundamentally, basically, at bottom; see essentially .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. heart soul, core, kernel, distillate, marrow, root, spirit, *meat, *nitty-gritty, gist, nature, quintessence, crux.

2. concentrate distillate, distillation, extract, elixir.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. A basic trait or set of traits that define and establish the character of something: being, essentiality, nature, quintessence, substance, texture. See SURFACE. 2. The most central and material part: core, gist, heart, kernel, marrow, meat, nub, pith, quintessence, root1, soul, spirit, stuff, substance. Law: gravamen. See BE.