existential

[eg-zi-sten-shuhl, ek-si-]

adjective

1. of or relating to existence.

   Does climate change pose an existential threat to humanity?

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of philosophical existentialism; concerned with the nature of human existence as determined by the individual's freely made choices.

existential

/ ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to existence, esp human existence

2. philosophy pertaining to what exists, and is thus known by experience rather than reason; empirical as opposed to theoretical

3. logic denoting or relating to a formula or proposition asserting the existence of at least one object fulfilling a given condition; containing an existential quantifier

4. of or relating to existentialism

noun

1. 1. an existential statement or formula

   2. short for existential quantifier

Other Word Forms

• existentially adverb
• nonexistential adjective
• nonexistentially adverb
• unexistential adjective
• unexistentially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of existential¹

First recorded in 1685–95, existential is from the Late Latin word existentiālis “relating to existing”; existence, -al ¹

Example Sentences

A nation that declared independence on the premise that men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” finds its own existential premise skewed and even contradicted if rights are granted otherwise.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

No wonder this feels like an existential crisis for the Beeb.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I tell them that we face an existential threat, more serious than anything that we have seen in our lifetimes, more serious than anything our parents or grandparents saw here in the United States.

Read more on Salon

A "survival-threatening situation" is a legal term under Japan's 2015 security law, referring to when an armed attack on its allies poses an existential threat to Japan.

Read more on BBC

For affluent, educated women—the ones with the luxury of existential angst about whether they have it all—whom to marry remains the indispensable decision.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• experiential 

When To Use

What does existential mean?

Existential is an adjective meaning “relating to existence,” but what does that even mean? What does anything mean? What is our purpose in the universe? These are existential questions.Existential is often used in relation to existentialism, a philosophical movement that suggests that existence (life, the universe, and everything) has no meaning except for the meaning that individuals create for themselves. Existential is also often used to describe a scenario in which someone or something’s very existence or being is threatened or in question, especially in phrases like existential threat. Example: Though unlikely, an asteroid strike would be an existential threat to the planet.