I like you essentially (3)
I believe the answer is:
ego
'i' is the definition.
('I' in Latin)
'like you essentially' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'eg' (I've seen this in other clues).
'essentially' indicates the central letters.
The central letter of 'you' is 'o'.
'eg'+'o'='EGO'
(Other definitions for ego that I've seen before include "Self-esteem, sense of self" , "Vowel to disappear, < say another" , "Conceit - the Latin "I"" , "Conscious mind" , "Sense of identity" .)