essentially
adv/ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
Etymology From essential + -ly.
› In an essential way.
1
In essence: by nature.
- Near-synonyms: actually, at bottom, at heart, basically, fundamentally, characteristically, centrally, substantially; see also Thesaurus:fundamentally
- The beaver is a social creature, not just occasionally but essentially.
2 more examples
- A thin, crunchy lemon and thyme rosti was essentially the pimped-up aesthetic of the Kettle chip. That's OK. I like Kettle chips.2011 December 18, Jay Rayner, “Restaurant review: Aurelia”, in The Observer, →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2022:
- A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.2012 March 23, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
2
Broadly In essence: in most ways that matter; in all ways that matter.
- A: So you're saying, in other words, that he's greedy? B: Essentially, yes, that's what I'm saying.