Bedrock, acute, basic, condition, basics, and basis are all synonyms for essential. Inessential, unimportant, and optional are these antonyms of essential. And here are another 99 synonyms for essential.
Essential Synonyms
1. crucial
- Acute
- All-important
- Burning
- Called for
- Compelling
- Compulsory
- Critical
- Crucial
- High-priority
- Imperative
- Important
- Indispensable
- Key
- Life-and-death
- Mandatory
- Necessary
- Needed
- Obligatory
- Of great consequence
- Of the essence
- Of the utmost importance
- Paramount
- Pre-eminent
- Pressing
- Required
- Requisite
- Significant
- Urgent
- Vital
- Vitally important
- Consequential
2. basic
- Basic
- Cardinal
- Central
- Characteristic
- Chief
- Critical
- Elemental
- Elementary
- Focal
- Foundational
- Fundamental
- Indispensable
- Inherent
- Innate
- Intrinsic
- Key
- Necessary
- Pivotal
- Primary
- Principal
- Quintessential
- Rudimentary
- Salient
- Staple
- Underlying
- Vital
- Ingrained
3. necessity
- Condition
- Desideratum
- Necessary/essential item
- Necessity
- Need
- Precondition
- Prerequisite
- Qualification
- Requirement
- Requisite
- Sine qua non
- Specification
- Stipulation
- Must
4. fundamentals
- Basics
- Basis
- Bedrock
- Brass tacks
- Core
- Crux
- Essence
- Facts
- First principles
- Foundations
- Fundamentals
- Groundwork
- Hard facts
- Kernel
- Marrow
- Meat
- Nitty-gritty
- Nub
- Nuts and bolts
- Practicalities
- Preliminaries
- Principles
- Realities
- Rudiments
- Sine qua non
- ABC