Synonym Discussion of essential. essential, fundamental, vital, cardinal mean so important as to be indispensable. essential implies belonging to the very nature of a thing and therefore being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character conflict is essential in drama.
The definition of a cretin is a very stupid person, or a person suffering from the disease cretinism, which causes mental problems and deformity. An example of a cretin is a person who constantly makes stupid and horrible mistakes. 2  An example of a cretin is someone with physical deformities due to the disease.
An example is given by Denis Dutton in his review of the editors' advice (âWhat Are Editors For?â, Philosophy and Literature 20, 1996). Mr Dutton points out that the origins of the word cretin lie in the Latin word for Christian.