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 someone who’s been an actor for 60 years and identifies so deeply with the work, that was an existential crisis. —Clayton Davis, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026

American interests in its near abroad are paramount, but existential threats are few. —Jennifer Kavanagh, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2026

Tracy Jones is a poet, writer, and multidisciplinary artist whose work explores existential dimensions of technology, spirituality, ancestry, and the environment. —Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026

In my view, the rise of wall-to-wall, saturation betting poses an existential threat to sports. —Rand Richards Cooper, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 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
• evidential
• exponential
• influential
• nonessential
• penitential
• precedential
• preferential
• presidential
• providential
• referential