existential

adjective

ex·​is·​ten·​tial ˌeg-(ˌ)zi-ˈsten(t)-shəl How to pronounce existential (audio)
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
existentially adverb

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 The whole thing has thrown life into an existential tailspin, and turned his status as Ryder’s go-to guy into a thing of the past. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 There are also oddly personal posts about Bell’s wife, Amy, and long, existential screeds about the challenges of running your own business, all written by the hacker. Jordan P. Hickey, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024 Despite this potentially campy subtext, however, the film’s existential hopelessness leaves a bleak impression. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 The Telegram channels that had circulated McGregor’s declaration of war the night before the stabbing claimed asylum seekers posed an innate, existential threat to Ireland’s citizens. Caolán Magee, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 When 12-year-old tech-head Hope falls in with a gang of likeminded outcasts, the misfit posse will have to foil a plot to replace the community’s children en masse, while grappling with deeper existential concerns: Just how ‘real’ are any of them? Ben Croll, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 All of these changes have made for an existential moment for doctors, too: The disease they were trained to treat is no longer the disease most of their patients have. Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024 In unveiling its plans to put its next vehicle into production, Rivian faces an existential test. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 7 Mar. 2024 That’s why actors and other creative professionals see generative AI as an existential threat. Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'existential.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of existential was in 1656

Dictionary Entries Near existential

Cite this Entry

“Existential.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/existential. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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