essentially

Word family  noun essence essentials ≠ inessentials adjective essential ≠ inessential adverb essentially

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++es·sen·tial·ly /ɪˈsenʃəli/ ●●○ S3 W3 adverb  BASICused when stating the most basic facts about something 本质上，根本上 SYN basically Ballet is essentially a middle-class interest. 芭蕾舞基本上是中产阶级感兴趣的东西。 Suicide rates have remained essentially unchanged. 自杀率基本上保持不变。[sentence adverb] Essentially, we are talking about the cold war period. 我们基本上是在谈论冷战时期。

Examples from the Corpus

essentially• Polk clearly states her belief that the world is essentially a good place.• I see art as essentially a luxury.• It was essentially confined to our division.• Essentially, "domicile" is just a legal term for the place where you live.• He listens politely, then makes plausible but essentially empty gestures.• But essentially I was moving away from dead ends more than being drawn toward children.• The whole argument might be presented as proceeding, essentially, in three main stages.• But much of what Congress is doing now is essentially meaningless.• Taking usage rate as a variable essentially means segmenting on the basis of volume purchased.• She's added a few characters and changed some names but essentially this is a true story.• What mechanism allows toadstools -- essentially very soft and squashy items -- to push through two inches of asphalt?

es·sen·tial·ly adverbChineseSyllable  

stating basic when used facts the most Corpus

essentially
es‧sen‧tial‧ly S2 W3 /ɪˈsenʃəli/ adverbused when stating the most basic facts about something
   SYN  basically:
    Ballet is essentially a middle-class interest.
    Suicide rates have remained essentially unchanged.
   [sentence adverb]
    Essentially, we are talking about the cold war period.

🔑 es·sen·tial·lyBrE /ɪˈsenʃəli/ 🔊NAmE /ɪˈsenʃəli/ 🔊 adverbwhen you think about the true, important or basic nature of sb/sth 本质上；根本上；基本上 SYN basically, fundamentally ◆There are three essentially different ways of tackling the problem. 解决这个问题有三种本质上完全不同的方法。🔊🔊◆The pattern is essentially the same in all cases. 这种模式在所有情况下基本相同。🔊🔊◆Essentially, what we are suggesting is that the firm needs to change. 说到底，我们的建议是公司必须思变。🔊🔊◆He was, essentially, a teacher, not a manager. 他本质上来说是个教师而不是经理。🔊🔊◆The article was essentially concerned with her relationship with her parents (= it dealt with other things, but this was the most important). 本文主要是关于她与父母的关系。🔊🔊