Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell essentially

What it means: Basically, or at the most basic level.

In a sentence: Essentially, a cat is a small furry animal with whiskers. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for double s and double l, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as essencially or essensially.

Same family: essential, essentiality, nonessential, quintessential. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Essentially” comes from the Latin word *essentia*, meaning “being” or “existence,” through Old French and Middle English. It originally carried a strong philosophical sense about the true nature of something, which is why we still use it today to mean “in its most important or basic way.”

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

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