{
    "term": "essence",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "the most important quality or feature of something, that makes it what it is",
            "sensetop": "in essence",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "His paintings capture the essence of France."
                },
                {
                    "text": "In essence *(= when you consider the most important points)*, your situation isn't so different from mine.",
                    "contextForm": "in essence"
                },
                {
                    "text": "His paintings embody the very essence of the immediate post-war years."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His theory was not new in essence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His work misses the essence of what Eastern religion is about."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The freedom to pick your leaders is the essence of a democracy."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The girl has her own spiritual essence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They distilled the essence of their message into three principles."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Like so many peasant foods, the essence of pasta is its simplicity."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["real", "true", "very"],
                "verb + essence": ["capture", "distil", "embody"],
                "preposition": ["in essence", "essence of"],
                "phrases": ["of the essence"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a liquid taken from a plant, etc. that contains its smell and taste in a very strong form",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "essence of rose"
                },
                {
                    "text": "**coffee/vanilla/almond essence**"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["almond", "coffee", "vanilla"],
                "… of essence": ["drop"],
                "verb + essence": ["add", "use"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "necessary and very important",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "In this situation **time is of the essence** *(= we must do things as quickly as possible)*."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈesns/",
                "audio": "es/essence/essence__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈesns/",
                "audio": "es/essence/essence__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: via Old French from Latin essentia, from esse ‘be’."
}