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
And even among the series' die-hard fans, most will admit that there are storylines, characters, or entire books that feel inessential or annoying or repetitive or sloggy or wheel-spinning.
—
Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
While Lamont points with pride to the large surpluses achieved during his tenure, critics say these weren’t inessential funds but rather were leeched from core programs that have been dangerously undermined.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
When photography went digital, photo lab technicians and manual retouchers were suddenly as inessential as medieval scribes.
—Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.
—Big Think, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inessential
Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
While Lamont points with pride to the large surpluses achieved during his tenure, critics say these weren’t inessential funds but rather were leeched from core programs that have been dangerously undermined.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
When photography went digital, photo lab technicians and manual retouchers were suddenly as inessential as medieval scribes.
—Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.
—Big Think, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inessential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inessential
unnecessary
Adjective
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The purpose of minutes is to record the corporation’s decisions, not comments or discussions, so including open forum questions or comments is unnecessary.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
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The Council should start by strengthening protections so that teaching artists can continue to serve the New Yorkers who need them without unnecessary delays.—
Kimberly Olsen,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inessential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inessential. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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