Essential vs. Necessary — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 30, 2023
Essential implies something is fundamentally important or intrinsic, whereas necessary refers to something required or needed, often to achieve a specific outcome.
Difference Between Essential and Necessary
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Essential denotes a core, inherent importance. Necessary points to a requirement or need for a specific purpose. While something essential is vital in its very nature, something necessary is needed for a certain condition or result.
Essential carries a sense of absolute importance. Necessary, on the other hand, suggests a conditional importance, often related to specific circumstances. While essential elements are non-negotiable, necessary elements might vary based on context.
The word essential is used to describe things fundamental to the essence or nature of something. Necessary is used to describe conditions or requirements that must be met. Essential implies indispensability, while necessary implies a prerequisite.
In everyday language, essential often connotes something without which a system, entity, or idea cannot function. Necessary, however, connotes a requirement that, if unmet, hinders or prevents a specific outcome or process.
In philosophy, essential refers to innate qualities. In practical applications, necessary refers to prerequisites for achieving goals. Essential attributes define the essence, while necessary conditions ensure the fulfillment of requirements.
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Comparison Chart
Connotation
Inherently important
Required for a purpose
Degree of Importance
Absolute, fundamental
Conditional, based on context
Usage in Language
Fundamental to nature
Conditions that must be met
Daily Use
Indispensable elements
Prerequisites for outcomes
Applications
Defines essence
Ensures goal achievement
Compare with Definitions
Essential
Essential implies vital significance.
Regular exercise is essential for health.
Necessary
Necessary implies something obligatory.
It’s necessary to follow the rules while driving.
Essential
Constituting or being part of the nature or essence of something; inherent
"In that era of general good will ... few Americans doubted the essential goodness of their society" (David Halberstam).
Necessary
Necessary means required for a specific purpose.
It’s necessary to have a passport for international travel.
Essential
Fundamentally important or necessary
Essential ingredients.
Necessary
Necessary refers to something mandatory.
Attending the meeting is necessary for all team members.
Essential
(Medicine) Of, relating to, or being a condition or a disease whose cause is unknown
Essential hypertension.
Necessary
Necessary denotes a prerequisite condition.
Hard work is necessary for success.
Essential
(Biochemistry) Being a substance that is required for normal functioning but cannot be synthesized by the body and therefore must be included in the diet
Essential amino acids.
Necessary
Needed or required
A contract complete with the necessary signatures.
Conditions necessary to life.
Essential
Something fundamental.
Necessary
Unavoidably determined by prior conditions or circumstances; inevitable
The necessary results of overindulgence.
Essential
Something necessary or indispensable.
Necessary
Logically inevitable
A necessary conclusion.
Essential
Necessary.
Necessary
Required by obligation, compulsion, or convention
Made the necessary apologies.
Essential
Very important; of high importance.
Necessary
Something indispensable.
Essential
(biology) Necessary for survival but not synthesized by the organism, thus needing to be ingested.
Necessary
Required, essential, whether logically inescapable or needed in order to achieve a desired result or avoid some penalty.
Although I wished to think that all was false, it was yet necessary that I, who thus thought, must in some sense exist.
It is absolutely necessary that you call and confirm your appointment.
Essential
Being in the basic form; showing its essence.
Don’t mind him being grumpy. That’s the essential Fred.
Necessary
Unavoidable, inevitable.
If it is absolutely necessary to use public computers, you should plan ahead and forward your e-mail to a temporary, disposable account.
Essential
Really existing; existent.
Necessary
(obsolete) Determined, involuntary: acting from compulsion rather than free will.
Essential
(geometry) Such that each complementary region is irreducible, the boundary of each complementary region is incompressible by disks and monogons in the complementary region, and no leaf is a sphere or a torus bounding a solid torus in the manifold.
Difference between 1 and 2
Necessary
A place to do the "necessary" business of urination and defecation: an outhouse or lavatory.
Essential
(medicine) Idiopathic.
Essential blepharospasm
Necessary
(obsolete) Necessity.
Essential
Having the nature of essence; not physical.
Necessary
Such as must be; impossible to be otherwise; not to be avoided; inevitable.
Death, a necessary end,Will come when it will come.
Essential
A necessary ingredient.
Necessary
Impossible to be otherwise, or to be dispensed with, without preventing the attainment of a desired result; indispensable; requisite; essential.
A certain kind of temper is necessary to the pleasure and quiet of our minds.
Essential
A fundamental ingredient.
Necessary
Acting from necessity or compulsion; involuntary; - opposed to free; as, whether man is a necessary or a free agent is a question much discussed.
Essential
Belonging to the essence, or that which makes an object, or class of objects, what it is.
Majestic as the voice sometimes became, there was forever in it an essential character of plaintiveness.
Necessary
A thing that is necessary or indispensable to some purpose; something that one can not do without; a requisite; an essential; - used chiefly in the plural; as, the necessaries of life.
Essential
Hence, really existing; existent.
Is it true, that thou art but a name,And no essential thing?
Necessary
A privy; a water-closet.
Essential
Important in the highest degree; indispensable to the attainment of an object; indispensably necessary.
Judgment's more essential to a generalThan courage.
How to live? - that is the essential question for us.
Necessary
Such things, in respect to infants, lunatics, and married women, as are requisite for support suitable to station.
Essential
Containing the essence or characteristic portion of a substance, as of a plant; highly rectified; pure; hence, unmixed; as, an essential oil.
Necessary
Anything indispensable;
Food and shelter are necessities of life
The essentials of the good life
Allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions
A place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained
Essential
Necessary; indispensable; - said of those tones which constitute a chord, in distinction from ornamental or passing tones.
Necessary
Absolutely essential
Essential
Idiopathic; independent of other diseases.
Necessary
Unavoidably determined by prior circumstances;
The necessary consequences of one's actions
Essential
Existence; being.
Necessary
Necessary denotes what is needful.
Adequate funding is necessary for the project’s completion.
Essential
That which is essential; first or constituent principle; as, the essentials of religion.
Essential
Anything indispensable;
Food and shelter are necessities of life
The essentials of the good life
Allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions
A place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained
Essential
Absolutely necessary; vitally necessary;
Essential tools and materials
Funds essential to the completion of the project
An indispensable worker
Essential
Basic and fundamental;
The essential feature
Essential
Of the greatest importance;
The all-important subject of disarmament
Crucial information
In chess cool nerves are of the essence
Essential
Being or relating to or containing the essence of a plant etc;
Essential oil
Essential
Applying to essential legal principles and rules of right;
Substantive law
Essential
Absolutely required and not to be used up or sacrificed
Essential
Essential means fundamentally important.
Water is essential for life.
Essential
Essential denotes something indispensable.
Trust is essential in a relationship.
Essential
Essential refers to a core element.
A good script is essential for a successful movie.
Essential
Essential pertains to fundamental nature.
Honesty is an essential trait in a leader.
Common Curiosities
Are essential things always necessary?
Essential things are generally considered inherently necessary due to their fundamental nature.
Can the use of essential and necessary be interchangeable?
They can sometimes be used interchangeably, but their nuances often lead to different implications.
Is necessary always obligatory?
Necessary often implies obligation, especially when specific conditions or results are involved.
Can something be necessary but not essential?
Yes, something can be necessary for a particular purpose without being fundamentally essential.
How does essential relate to the essence of something?
Essential relates directly to the inherent, defining qualities or nature of something.
Are necessary conditions always explicit?
Necessary conditions are often explicitly stated or understood in relation to achieving something.
Does necessary imply urgency?
Necessary doesn’t always imply urgency, but it does imply a requirement for a certain purpose.
Is necessary always related to a specific outcome?
Typically, necessary is related to conditions or requirements for achieving a specific outcome.
Can something be essential in one situation and not in another?
Essential usually denotes intrinsic importance, making it less context-dependent.
Is essentiality subjective?
While perceptions of essentiality can vary, it usually denotes an objective, inherent importance.
How does context affect the use of essential and necessary?
Context greatly affects their use; essential usually maintains its meaning, while necessary can vary.
Can necessary conditions be negotiable?
Necessary conditions might be negotiable or adaptable depending on the context and goal.
Can an essential element change over time?
Essential elements usually remain constant as they define the fundamental nature of something.
Can essential qualities be added or removed?
Essential qualities are inherent and typically cannot be added or removed without changing the nature of something.
How do essential and necessary apply in philosophy?
In philosophy, essential refers to innate qualities of an entity, while necessary relates to conditions required for certain propositions or states to be true.
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Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
