essential

indispensable, nécessaire

Nécessaire au point que, sans cela, quelque chose ne peut pas se produire ou réussir.

En anglais simple : Needed so much that something cannot happen or succeed without it.

• Water is essential for life.
• A helmet is essential when you ride here.
• It is essential that everyone arrives on time.

Comment l'utiliser : essential for something (Clean water is essential for health.); essential to something (Trust is essential to a strong friendship.); it is essential to do something (It is essential to check the brakes before leaving.)

Synonymes : necessary, vital, indispensable

Contraires : unnecessary, optional

Expressions courantes : essential for something, essential equipment, absolutely essential

essentiel, important

Très important ou occupant une place centrale dans quelque chose.

En anglais simple : Very important or central to something.

• Music plays an essential role in the film.
• The garden is an essential part of the house’s charm.
• Her warmth was an essential element of her appeal.

Synonymes : important, key, central

Contraires : unimportant

Expressions courantes : essential role, essential element, essential part

intrinsèque, fondamental

Qui appartient à la nature ou aux caractéristiques les plus fondamentales de quelque chose.

En anglais simple : Belonging to the most basic nature or character of something.

• Its essential nature has not changed.
• The two stories share the same essential features.
• What is the essential difference between these approaches?

Synonymes : fundamental, basic, underlying

Contraires : superficial

Expressions courantes : essential nature, essential character, essential difference

essentiel, idiopathique

Se dit d’une maladie ou d’un problème de santé dont la cause est inconnue.

En anglais simple : Describing a medical condition that has no known cause.

• The doctor diagnosed essential hypertension.
• Essential tremor can make writing difficult.
• She takes medication to control her essential tremor.

Synonymes : idiopathic

Expressions courantes : essential hypertension, essential tremor, essential blepharospasm