Synonyms of existential

existential

adjective

ˌeg-(ˌ)zi-ˈsten(t)-shəl 

as in empirical

based on observation or experience

child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim believed that fairy tales help children cope with their existential anxieties and dilemmas

Synonyms & Similar Words

• empirical
• observational
• objective
• experimental
• experiential
• factual
• actual
• real
• genuine
• material
• undeniable
• indisputable
• accepted
• demonstrable
• established
• verifiable
• hard
• provable
• tried-and-true
• tried

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• theoretical
• hypothetical
• speculative
• conjectural
• nonempirical
• metaphysical
• unempirical
• unproven
• unsubstantiated
• visionary
• transcendentalist

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of existential

The driver brings the baby to friends partying in a night club; his quandary yields existential debate in a police station, a portrait of a courthouse’s bureaucratic frenzy, and a heartrending documentary vision of an orphanage. — Rhoda Feng, New Yorker, 31 July 2026

Trump’s spectrum of threats, for example, prompted Tehran to see the war in existential terms and maximally fight back. — Erik Lin-Greenberg, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026

Yet director Christopher Nolan, far more than Homer, goes on to plumb Odysseus’ existential collapse, shame and guilt. — Amy S. Badura-Brack, The Conversation, 30 July 2026

The speed and intensity of the resistance shows that many of the world soccer’s power brokers view the plan as an existential challenge rather than merely another commercial initiative. — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026