4 uses
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Definition
necessary or important or relating to the basic nature of something
- Because of it, she could understand why, when essentially they were so mismatched, her mother had married her father.3 — Answer (27% in)
- Dewey-and the majority of his colleagues, as well-favored the second hypothesis, which in many essentials followed the first, the important difference being that the killer was not alone but had an accomplice, who helped subdue the family, tape, and tie them.2 — Persons Unknown (7% in)
- Dr. Satten, who afterward gave the case close attention, suggests that though the crime would not have occurred except for a certain frictional interplay between the perpetrators, it was essentially the act of Perry Smith, who, he feels, represents a type of murderer described by him in an article: "Murder Without Apparent Motive-A Study in Personality Disorganization."4 — The Corner (51% in)
- The great essential was to persuade the court to substitute the Durham Rule for the M'Naghten Rule.4 — The Corner (71% in)
There are no more uses of "essential" in In Cold Blood.
Typical Usage
(best examples)