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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of existential
But the increasing defiance of Iranians marching throughout the country may pose a greater existential threat to the regime.
—
Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
That makes some of these contestations existential, particularly for smaller combatants.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 12 Jan. 2026
For someone who’s been an actor for 60 years and identifies so deeply with the work, that was an existential crisis.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026
American interests in its near abroad are paramount, but existential threats are few.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for existential
Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
That makes some of these contestations existential, particularly for smaller combatants.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 12 Jan. 2026
For someone who’s been an actor for 60 years and identifies so deeply with the work, that was an existential crisis.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026
American interests in its near abroad are paramount, but existential threats are few.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for existential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for existential
Adjective
-
Even 30 years ago, the Court’s view rested on shaky empirical foundations.—
Paul Rosenzweig,
The Atlantic,
12 Jan. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Campos and her colleagues stress that their role is strictly observational — never to interfere.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
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
-
An objective skills test can help benchmark the AI engineer against the performance expected from human counterparts.—
Paul Eremenko,
Fortune,
14 Jan. 2026
-
All of this feels either cut off or elaborated on in a magical thinking way; nothing feels objective.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The result is both the band’s most experimental and cohesive record to date, a mass of cosmic krautrock, dreary ambient synths, and eerie avant-garde touches that guarantee any conventional song structure or form could never take root.—
David Glickman,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
-
However, that view has now been overturned by experimental evidence.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Existential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/existential. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
