Synonyms

exist

American

[ig-zist] / ɪgˈzɪst /

verb (used without object)

to have actual being; be.

The world exists, whether you like it or not.
to have life or animation; live.
to continue to be or live.

Belief in magic still exists.

Synonyms:

remain, stay, endure, last, persist, survive, abide
to have being in a specified place or under certain conditions; be found; occur.

Hunger exists in many parts of the world.
to achieve the basic needs of existence, as food and shelter.

He's not living, he's merely existing.

exist British

/ ɪɡˈzɪst /

verb

to have being or reality; to be
to eke out a living; stay alive; survive

I can barely exist on this wage
to be living; live
to be present under specified conditions or in a specified place

sharks exist in the Pacific
philosophy
1. to be actual rather than merely possible
2. to be a member of the domain of some theory, an element of some possible world, etc
3. to have contingent being while free, responsible, and aware of one's situation

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of exist

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ex(s)istere “to exist, appear, emerge,” equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + sistere “to stand”

Explanation

The verb exist means to live, to have reality. Dodos no longer exist because they were hunted to extinction. It's not only "live" things that exist. The government exists, as does your fear of heights. Anything that can be acknowledged in the present, exists. Another meaning for the verb exist is to support oneself or survive. If someone doesn't have a job, they may have to exist on unemployment benefits until they find one.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing exist

Because of Winn-Dixie

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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

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"Inventing to Solve a Problem"

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi felt he needed a break after promoting two back-to-back hits, so he vanished into the Japanese countryside to make a new movie, "Evil Does Not Exist", which premiered at Venice on Monday.

From Reuters • Sep. 8, 2023

The bizarre yet heartbreaking tale is revisited in Netflix's latest documentary, "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist."

From Salon • Aug. 27, 2022

Take the visualization platform This Climate Does Not Exist, timed to coincide with the COP26 report.

From Scientific American • Apr. 5, 2022

‘Alex Gardner: We All Exist Right Now’ The Long Beach native explores the interaction of people and spaces in paintings on display through May 1.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2021

The Qualities of Objects Exist in the Mind.—Yet even in the relatively simple description which we have proposed many puzzles confront us, and one of them appears at the very outset.

From The Mind and Its Education by Betts, George Herbert

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023