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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
No one in charge seems to know the right way to navigate a moment in which speech theoretically protected by the First Amendment — including late-night comedy and dramatic television — has immediate and existential consequences. Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025 But this is Putin’s existential war. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025 The next two are more existential. Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025 Later, European romantics would use the word sublime to describe the sensation evoked by confrontation with the grandeur and terror of nature, its existential enormity. Greg Grandin september 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for existential

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

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Cite this Entry

“Existential.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/existential. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

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