Meaning & use
quintessential
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Being the purest, most typical example of a kind of person or thing.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: the quintessential Englishman.
Patterns
- the quintessential something
With its fog and bridges, the city is the quintessential river town.
He is the quintessential absent-minded professor.
That old diner is the quintessential small-town hangout.
adjectivecomparableformalliterary
Showing the central or most essential part of a thing.
Grammar: Less common than the first sense, and often used in writing.
Patterns
- quintessential nature of something
She captured the quintessential spirit of the festival in one photograph.
The poem expresses a quintessential sadness.
Critics praised the film's quintessential simplicity.
Common combinations
- quintessential example
- The painting is a quintessential example of Baroque style.
- quintessentially British
- Afternoon tea is quintessentially British.
- quintessential American
- The road trip is a quintessential American tradition.
- quintessential element
- Humor is a quintessential element of her writing.
- the quintessential symbol
- The tower became the quintessential symbol of the city.
Synonyms and how they differ
- typical
- Typical just means usual or characteristic, while quintessential means the very best or purest example.
- classic
- Classic suggests a well-known model that others follow, and is more casual than quintessential.
- archetypal
- Archetypal suggests the original pattern or model for a type, and is used in more academic contexts.
- ideal
- Ideal means perfect or most desirable, not the most typical, so it describes quality rather than representativeness.
Opposites
Word family
- quintessence noun
- the purest or most perfect example of something
- quintessentially adverb
- in a most typical way
- essence noun
- the basic nature of something
- essential adjective
- absolutely necessary
Commonly confused: quintessential or essential?
quintessential vs essential
Essential means necessary, while quintessential means a perfect example of a type.
Practice
A red double-decker bus and a rainy day are often called ____ images of London.
Choose one answer.
Quintessential means most typical, which is why it suits images that sum up a place. Essential means necessary, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “quintessential”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.