Meaning of active ingredient | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The specific compound in a natural or man-made mixture that is responsible for the mixture's activity.
   especially
2. The essence of something, or a sine qua non that it requires.
   figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“I think⟳ many humans never learn⟳ how to do this, either. They assume⟳ that our existence is nothing more than an endless lurching in the direction of the things you want⟳, and never actually getting them. Life is hard and then you die⟳; stick⟳ a needle in your eye! There are people with the opposite problem, of course: people who refuse⟳ to take⟳ on any amount of discomfort in pursuit of their goals, people who try⟳ not to have⟳ any goals in the first place⟳, for they only bring⟳ affliction. It’s a different strategy, but the same mistake⟳. These two opposing approaches to life—call⟳ them grindset and bedrot—both assume⟳ that the ratio between pain and gain⟳ is fixed. The grindset gang simply accepts every deal⟳ they’re offered, while the bedrot brigade turns every deal⟳ down. Neither camp understands that when you get⟳ your Suffering Ratio right, it doesn’t feel⟳ like⟳ suffering at all. The active ingredient in suffering is pointlessness; when it has a purpose, it loses its potency.”

CEFR level