ens

[ enz, ens ]

/ ɛnz, ɛns /

Save This Word!

noun, plural en·ti·a

[en-shee-uh, -tee-uh], /ˈɛn ʃi ə, -ti ə/, Metaphysics.

an existing or real thing; an entity.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of ens

<Latin ēns, present participle of esse to be

Words nearby ens

enrollment, enrolment, Enron, enroot, en route, ens, ENSA, ensample, ensanguine, Enschede, ensconce

Other definitions for ens (2 of 2)

Ens.

abbreviation

Ensign.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ens in a sentence

Thomas goes on to contradict Aristotle, in holding quod nullum ens esset nisi corpus.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor
Appetency, ap′pet-ens-i, n. a seeking after: craving or appetite: desire, especially sensual desire—also Ap′petence.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
How can we conceive Non-Ens: or confound together two distinct realities?
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4)|George Grote
To admit this, we must assume the thing that is not (or Non-Ens, Nothing) to have a real existence.
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4)|George Grote

Non-Ens, or Nothing, is not the name of any existing thing, or of any Something.
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4)|George Grote

British Dictionary definitions for ens (1 of 2)

ens

/ (ɛnz) /

noun plural entia (ˈɛnʃɪə) metaphysics

being or existence in the most general abstract sense

a real thing, esp as opposed to an attribute; entity

Word Origin for ens

C16: from Late Latin, literally: being, from Latin esse to be

British Dictionary definitions for ens (2 of 2)

Ens.

abbreviation for

Ensign

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012