Väsentligast

Väsentligast is a Swedish superlative adjective meaning “the most essential” or “the most significant.” It is used to express that one element possesses the highest degree of importance among a set of items, often in formal or analytic writing.

Form and usage: It is derived from the adjective väsentlig, which means essential or significant. The superlative is formed with the suffix -ast in standard Swedish, and is used both attributively (before a noun) and predicatively (after a linking verb). In practice, you will often see the neuter/definite forms as det väsentligaste or den väsentligaste depending on grammar.

Examples: Det väsentligaste är att vi håller tidsplanen. Bland förslagen är den väsentligaste frågan hur vi implementerar det.

Etymology: The word builds on the base väsentlig with the normally attached superlative suffix -ast, following ordinary Swedish adjective formation rules. The sense remains “most essential” or “most significant.”

See also: väsentlig, väsentlighet.