essence vs substance

essence and substance both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
essence	Yes	No	No	No
substance	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, essence and substance are synonyms defined as:

essence and substance: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

Other synonyms of essence include center, centre, core, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, sum.

As nouns, substance is a hypernym of essence; that is, substance is a word with a broader meaning than essence:

essence: any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted
substance: the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists

essence (noun)	substance (noun)
a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor	the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists
the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience	a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties
the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work	the property of holding together and retaining its shape
any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted	the idea that is intended
	the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
	content communicating a message; what something is about
	considerable capital (wealth or income)
	material of a particular kind or constitution