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• n  anything indispensable
  the essentials of the good life
• s  absolutely necessary; vitally necessary
  essential tools and materials
  funds essential to the completion of the project
• a  basic and fundamental
  the essential feature
• s  of the greatest importance
• a  being or relating to or containing the essence of a plant etc
  essential oil
• a  defining rights and duties as opposed to giving the rules by which rights and duties are established

• Israel's strategic priority now is countering the threat it sees in Iran's nuclear program, and on that front, Russian cooperation is essential.

• necessity
• requirement
• requisite
• necessary
• indispensable
• all-important
• all important
• crucial
• of the essence
• substantive

• inessential
• adjective

News & Articles

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• Bermuda shorts are next year's menswear essential
  MILAN (AP) — From day one, it is clear that Bermuda shorts are the essential piece for next summer.
  June 22, 2013 - Associated Press via Yahoo! News
• Video: WH: Reconciliation in Afghanistan "essential" but "hard"
  We believe that reconciliation is essential ultimately to the resolution of more than 30 years of conflict in Afghanistan,said White House press secretary Jay Carney on the prospect of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. "We've also made clear that this is going to be hard."
  June 21, 2013 - CBS News
• Essential Energy Services Announces Addition to Its Board of Directors
  Essential Energy Services Ltd. is pleased to announce Robert B. Michaleski has joined the Board of Directors.
  June 18, 2013 - Marketwired via Yahoo! Finance

Quotes

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• Ben Bernanke in FOXNews
  To break that adverse feedback loop, it is essential that we continue to complement fiscal stimulus with strong government action to stabilize financial institutions and financial markets,Bernanke said.
• Barack Obama in New York Times
  That kind of judge, Obama explained, will have empathy: "I view the quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes."
• Vice President Dick Cheney in International Herald Tribune
  I think those programs were absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that let us defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since 9/11,Mr. Cheney said of Bush...