noun
1.
Synonyms: essence 2, bottom, essentiality, marrow, quintessence, quintessential, rock bottom, root, soul, virtuality
Related Word: center, focus, nucleus; meaning, meaningfulness
2.
Synonyms: substance 2, burden, core, gist, matter, meat, sense, short, thrust, upshot
Idioms: the long and (the) short
3.
Synonyms: center 3, core, heart, quick, root
Related Word: fulcrum; hub
4.
Synonyms: importance , consequence, import, magnitude, moment, momentousness, significance, ||signification, weight, weightiness