existential

adjective

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

ˌek-(ˌ)si-

1

: of, relating to, or affirming existence

existential propositions

2

a

: grounded in existence or the experience of existence : empirical

b

: having being in time and space

3

: existentialist

existentially adverb

Synonyms

• empirical
• empiric
• 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

In every one of these Thomas McGuane stories, something is going to be very wrong and yet probably hilarious—existential slapstick in ventriloquial voices with such precise language and restraint that his sentences will literally shine up off the page. —Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025

Experts, developers, and CEOs of AI companies make bold claims about future trajectories, from the elimination of arduous labor and the increase in human longevity to the potential existential threats to humanity. —Yoshua Bengio, Time, 22 Oct. 2025

David Adelman joined the Nuggets in the middle of a league-wide existential crisis in 2017. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025

But while some amphibians face existential threats to their existence, others are being discovered for the very first time. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025

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
• evidential
• exponential
• influential
• nonessential
• penitential
• precedential
• preferential
• presidential
• providential
• referential