inessential

[ in-i-sen-shuhl ]

adjective

1. not essential; not necessary; nonessential.
2. without essence; insubstantial.

noun

1. that which is not essential.

inessential

/ ˌɪnɪˈsɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. not necessary

noun

1. anything that is not essential

Derived Forms

• ˌinesˌsentiˈality, noun

Other Words From

• ines·senti·ali·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inessential¹

First recorded in 1670–80; in- ³ + essential

Example Sentences

She treats the question as compulsory but perhaps inessential.

From Salon

The commentary was no less inessential with the addition of Jimmy Fallon, who also has a show on NBC.

From Los Angeles Times

The first “Rebel Moon,” released on Netflix in December, made audiences endure a gantlet of narrative groundwork that’s fairly inessential and recapped here.

From New York Times

Set in 1964, this inessential Bollywood-tinged fantasia is two and a half hours of soda shops, chaste dates, candy-colored petticoats, and athletic musical numbers choreographed to a mix of modern-ish new tunes and classics like “Wooly Bully.”

From New York Times

Set in 1964, this inessential Bollywood-tinged fantasia is two and a half hours of soda shops, chaste dates, candy-colored petticoats, and athletic musical numbers choreographed to a mix of modern-ish new tunes and classics like “Wooly Bully.”

From New York Times