existential

adjective

ex·is·ten·tial ˌeg-(ˌ)zi-ˈsten(t)-shəl

ˌek-(ˌ)si-

Synonyms of existential next

: of, relating to, or affirming existence

existential propositions

: grounded in existence or the experience of existence : empirical

: having being in time and space

: existentialist

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 science-fiction series takes place in the past, present and future, after an astrophysicist makes contact with an alien species leading to an existential threat to humanity. —

Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024 The insurance crisis is now an existential threat to nonprofit housing organizations and the renters in communities throughout the Bay Area that depend on them. —

Nikki Beasley, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024 Hundreds of dissidents who fled Russia after the invasion of Ukraine found a sympathetic ally in their struggle against President Vladimir V. Putin: the Lithuanian government, which has long viewed the Russian leader’s foreign interventions as an existential threat. —

Tomas Dapkus, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024 When the Writers Guild of America went on strike last May, union leaders argued that artificial intelligence posed an existential threat to writers, painting a picture of a dystopian future in which TV shows might be crafted by one writer and a machine. —

Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024 The decline of local industry alongside the lack of labor as a bulwark made voters susceptible to a Trumpian message warning of socialism and immigration as existential threats to just this sort of town. —

TIME, 2 Apr. 2024 Kindergarten is a bit early to be fed that existential nugget. —

Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024 Just two months ago, Vincente appeared eager to tackle the existential threats facing Sundance and the indie space head on. —

Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024 The policy sees the administration trying to strike a balance between mitigating risks from deeper use of AI—the extent of which are not known—and using AI tools to solve existential threats like climate change and disease. —

Amanda Hoover, WIRED, 28 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

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