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

Pro-Kremlin politicians accuse ⁠the West of trying to destabilize Russia ⁠before the elections and say that some censorship is necessary ‌to safeguard ​national unity at a ‌time when Moscow is locked ​in an existential struggle over Ukraine. — Reuters, NBC news, 20 July 2026

Drewchin might once have used her songs to meditate on meaning, to stare at the sky for answers, but Heavenly Body is a document of a time when those existential concerns took a backseat to the urgency of the physical changes in her life. — Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026

But the saying also slyly sets the stage for the men’s existential inquiries; in Cool Machine, Pepper and Carney ask themselves the same thing. — Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026

Finally, how about a podcast that asks an existential question that deeply impacts our lives every day. — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 20 July 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