as in unnecessary
not needed by the circumstances or to accomplish an end
he writes very spare prose, with nary an inessential word to be found
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Recent Examples of inessential
Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.
—
Big Think, 20 Feb. 2025
The remaining seven undisputed songs, including forgettable Akon and Lenny Kravitz collaborations, make for a slight and inessential collection.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 16 Jan. 2025
Though somewhat inessential, Far From Home is a fun diversion with a killer mid-credits sequence that beautifully sets up the third film.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025
That kind of wheel-spinning can be infuriating in a genre show; think of how the second season of Yellowjackets eventually became too unwieldy or how certain episodes of Lost (one of From’s clear inspirations) felt inessential.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inessential
Big Think, 20 Feb. 2025
The remaining seven undisputed songs, including forgettable Akon and Lenny Kravitz collaborations, make for a slight and inessential collection.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 16 Jan. 2025
Though somewhat inessential, Far From Home is a fun diversion with a killer mid-credits sequence that beautifully sets up the third film.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025
That kind of wheel-spinning can be infuriating in a genre show; think of how the second season of Yellowjackets eventually became too unwieldy or how certain episodes of Lost (one of From’s clear inspirations) felt inessential.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inessential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inessential
unnecessary
Adjective
-
From sky-high heels and stiff business attire to bulky belts and even barefoot passengers (yes, that happens), these in-flight missteps can lead to unnecessary discomfort—or worse, a hygiene horror story.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
25 July 2025
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On a larger scale and across billions of daily prompts, unnecessary tokens can contribute to thousands of metric tons of additional emissions annually.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inessential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inessential. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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