quintessential C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˌkwɪntəˈsɛnʃəl/ UK /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj representing the most perfect or typical example of something He is the quintessential gentleman of the old school. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · representing the most... typicalarchetypaldefinitiveidealrepresentativeexemplaryclassic ↔ Opposites atypicaluncharacteristicaberrant Word family Derived forms quintessentially Related forms quintessenceessenceessential Etymology AI details From quintessence + -ial; from Medieval Latin quinta essentia ('fifth essence'), from quintus ('fifth') + essentia ('essence'). quinta essentia Latin quintus Latin essentia Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # quintessential **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˌkwɪntəˈsɛnʃəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəl/ ## Meanings 1. representing the most perfect or typical example of something ## Examples - He is the quintessential gentleman of the old school. ## Synonyms - typical - archetypal - definitive - ideal - representative - exemplary - classic ## Antonyms - atypical - uncharacteristic - aberrant ## Derived Forms - quintessentially ## Related Forms - quintessence - essence - essential ## Roots and Affixes - Root: quinta essentia - Root: quintus - Root: essentia ## Etymology From quintessence + -ial; from Medieval Latin quinta essentia ('fifth essence'), from quintus ('fifth') + essentia ('essence'). ## AI Etymology Quintessential is from quintessence + -ial; from Medieval Latin quinta essentia ('fifth essence'), from quintus ('fifth') + essentia ('essence'). Important recorded forms include quinta essentia (Latin), quintus (Latin), and essentia (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers representing the most perfect or typical example of something. The wider family includes derived forms such as quintessentially and related words such as quintessence, essence, and essential. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown