existence

noun ex·is·tence \ ig-ˈzi-stən(t)s \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of existence

1 a obsolete : reality as opposed to appearance

b : reality as presented in experience

c (1) : the totality of existent things

(2) : a particular being

all the fair existences of heaven
—John Keats

d : sentient or living being : life

2 a : the state or fact of having being especially independently of human consciousness and as contrasted with nonexistence

the existence of other worlds

b : the manner of being that is common to every mode of being

c : being with respect to a limiting condition or under a particular aspect

3 : actual or present occurrence

existence of a state of war

See existence defined for English-language learners

See existence defined for kids

Examples of existence in a Sentence

She began to doubt the existence of God.
the existence of UFO's is something that people continue to argue about

Recent Examples of existence from the Web

That Facebook’s relentless growth threatens the existence of news organizations is something that should make the architects of that relentless growth feel bad about themselves.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "The case against Facebook," 9 Apr. 2018
But these were specific practices that helped grow the business, which the very existence of Bosworth’s memo highlights were controversial. That Bosworth would write a memo on Facebook openly debating growth tactics is not a problem.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "Zuckerberg Says Balancing Facebook's Business and Community Is 'Quite Easy'," 4 Apr. 2018
The existence of ghettos is no longer enforced by implacable bigots.

— The Economist, "Half a century after Martin Luther King’s murder, America remains an unequal place," 4 Apr. 2018
Alternatively, in the absence of any direct dark matter detections, some theorists have suggested its existence is illusory—and that something else drives galaxy evolution and gravitational lensing.

— rebecca boyle, Scientific American, "Astronomers Boggle at Distant Galaxy Devoid of Dark Matter," 28 Mar. 2018
The existence of such a clause is not particularly unusual or troubling in and of itself.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "Microsoft To Ban 'Offensive Language' From Skype," 26 Mar. 2018
The group held its first meeting in June, but its existence wasn't public knowledge until an Insider Louisville story reported on the group in January.

— mandy mclaren, The Courier-Journal, "Coalition urges 2 business leaders to walk away from private group focused on JCPS," 8 Mar. 2018
As one might imagine, the existence of a five-year plan is not only compelling to prospective OEMs but to sponsors, broadcasters and the series’ current stakeholders.

— jim ayello, Indianapolis Star, "After years of being stuck in neutral, IndyCar 'at beginning of a resurgence'," 8 Mar. 2018
Its mere existence is an anecdote to the tradition that dominate the rest of this imperial capital.

— lindsay cohn, ELLE Decor, "Why Every Culture Aficionado Needs to Visit Fez, Morocco," 6 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'existence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of existence

15th century

existence Synonyms

EXISTENCE Defined for Kids

existence

noun ex·is·tence \ ig-ˈzi-stəns \

Definition of existence for Students

1 : the fact or the condition of being or of being real

The blue whale is the largest animal in existence.

2 : the state of being alive : life

Learn More about existence

See words that rhyme with existence Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for existence Spanish Central: Translation of existence Nglish: Translation of existence for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of existence for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about existence

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