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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of existential
In China, however, this race feels existential.
—
Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Recruitment ads have proliferated across TV, radio, print and podcasts directing viewers to an ICE hiring website that portrays immigration as an existential threat.
—Arkansas Online, 1 Jan. 2026
Your babysitter calls in sick, or your day care shuts down, perhaps permanently, and the feeling curdles into existential dread.
—Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
The culprit is the bleak future of technology, the existential threat of climate change, and the monsters — real and fantastical — that potentially hunt us all.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for existential
Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Recruitment ads have proliferated across TV, radio, print and podcasts directing viewers to an ICE hiring website that portrays immigration as an existential threat.
—Arkansas Online, 1 Jan. 2026
Your babysitter calls in sick, or your day care shuts down, perhaps permanently, and the feeling curdles into existential dread.
—Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
The culprit is the bleak future of technology, the existential threat of climate change, and the monsters — real and fantastical — that potentially hunt us all.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for existential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for existential
Adjective
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Assorted arguments, testimony and empirical evidence regarding Title IX haven’t been scrutinized and arguably fall outside the scope of the litigation.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
5 Jan. 2026
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As my colleague Rogé Karma explained last year, however, essentially the entire weight of empirical economic evidence suggests that this theory has never been true in practice.—
Gilad Edelman,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Campos and her colleagues stress that their role is strictly observational — never to interfere.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Because of this alignment, Regulus has played an important role in both observational astronomy and ancient sky calendars.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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According to a staff report, the project complies with Antioch’s General Plan as well as zoning and objective standards.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
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The evidence of decline is seen in objective behavior, not just self-reporting.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Industry analysts warn that social stigma remains high and inflation threatens to curb spending on experimental, nonessential goods.—
Luke Fountain,
CNBC,
10 Jan. 2026
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In an interview with Interesting Engineering, UEL researcher Daehyun Kim explained that SCARABS focuses on exploration reliability rather than experimental payloads.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Existential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/existential. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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