existential

adjective

ex·​is·​ten·​tial ˌeg-(ˌ)zi-ˈsten(t)-shəl 

ˌek-(ˌ)si-

1

: of, relating to, or affirming existence

existential propositions

an existential crisis

the existential threat of climate change

2

a

: grounded in existence or the experience of existence : empirical

existential phenomenology

b

: having being in time and space

… abstractions, ideal gauges without claim to existential reality …

—W. Wolfgang Holdheim

3

: concerned with or involving human existence or its nature : existentialist

an existential novel

existentially adverb

Synonyms of existential

• empirical
• observational
• objective
• experimental

Examples of existential in a Sentence

child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim believed that fairy tales help children cope with their existential anxieties and dilemmas

Recent Examples on the Web

For Chinese patients – at least those who can afford the product – the question is less ethical than existential. — Cnn Staff, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026

The images conveyed gravity, purpose and leadership in a time of existential crisis. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026

Belknap also points to other existential challenges to American self-governance, such as the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and the rush toward partisan gerrymandering that seeks to cement one-party control in different states. — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2026

The existential connection between Morocco’s project — now being extended — and California’s is the French national railroad SNCF. — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin existentiālis, exsistentiālis, from existentia, exsistentia existence + Latin -ālis -al entry 1; in the 19th and 20th centuries in part as translation of Danish existentiel (later eksistentiel) & German existentiell

Note: Compare "Existentielt Indlæg" ("existential contribution") in the subtitle of Søren Kierkegaard's Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler (1846; Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments), used also elsewhere in the work.

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing existential

• existential quantifier

Rhymes for existential

• consequential
• deferential
• exponential
• influential
• nonessential
• penitential
• precedential
• preferential
• presidential
• providential
• referential
• residential