existence

[ig-zis-tuh ns]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR existence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the state or fact of existing; being.

continuance in being or life; life: a struggle for existence.

mode of existing: They were working for a better existence.

all that exists: Existence shows a universal order.

something that exists; entity; being.

Origin of existence

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word ex(s)istentia. See exist, -ence

Related formspost·ex·ist·ence, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for existence

continuation, survival, reality, world, presence, continuance, perseverance, individuality, being, subsistence, endurance, entity, breath, permanence, animation, essence, duration, actuality, journey, something

Examples from the Web for existence

Contemporary Examples of existence

I am so sorry that your parents did this to you, developing their own discriminatory take on your existence.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen
Parker Molloy
January 1, 2015
That user's posts were being wiped completely from existence.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think
Brendon Hong
December 27, 2014
Beech-Nut is still in existence, and is the third largest baby food manufacturer in the United States.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician
Rich Goldstein
December 8, 2014
“What they are really doing is justifying their existence,” Banes said.
Special Forces’ $77M ‘Hustler’ Hits Back
Kevin Maurer
December 8, 2014
The cities of the heartland came into existence, first and foremost, as economic entities.
The Rustbelt Roars Back From the Dead
Joel Kotkin, Richey Piiparinen
December 7, 2014

Historical Examples of existence

Paralus breathes and moves, but is apparently unconscious of existence in this world.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
To Kate, for instance, she was a necessity of existence, like light or air.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Built on fear and run by fear, fear is as essential to their existence as coal to our industries.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
Its calmness gave the impression of a wisdom behind it that had no existence.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
My home life—if existence in a studio can be so called—was merry.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark

British Dictionary definitions for existence

existence

noun

the fact or state of existing; being

the continuance or maintenance of life; living, esp in adverse circumstancesa struggle for existence; she has a wretched existence

something that exists; a being or entity

everything that exists, esp that is living

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

Word Origin and History for existence

late 14c., "reality," from Old French existence, from Medieval Latin existentia/exsistentia, from existentem/exsistentem (nominative existens/exsistens) "existent," present participle of Latin existere/exsistere "stand forth, appear," and, as a secondary meaning, "exist, be;" from ex- "forth" (see ex-) + sistere "cause to stand" (see assist).