es ‧ sen ‧ tial ‧ ly S2 W3 /ɪˈsenʃ ə li/ BrE AmE adverb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ essence , essentials ≠ ↑ inessentials ; adverb : ↑ essentially ; adjective : ↑ essential ≠ ↑ inessential ]
used when stating the most basic facts about something SYN basically :
Ballet is essentially a middle-class interest.
Suicide rates have remained essentially unchanged.
[sentence adverb]
Essentially, we are talking about the cold war period.