existentialism

[ eg-zi-sten-shuh-liz-uhm, ek-si- ]

/ ˌɛg zɪˈstɛn ʃəˌlɪz əm, ˌɛk sɪ- /

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noun Philosophy.

a philosophical movement that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for making meaningful, authentic choices in a universe seen as purposeless or irrational: existentialism is associated especially with Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel, and Sartre, and is opposed to philosophical rationalism and empiricism.

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Origin of existentialism

First recorded in 1940–45; from German Existentialismus (1919); see existential, -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM existentialism

ex·is·ten·tial·ist, adjective, nounex·is·ten·tial·is·tic, adjectiveex·is·ten·tial·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·ex·is·ten·tial·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use existentialism in a sentence

In the grips of existentialist angst, investors decided to sell stocks and start stowing money under their mattresses.
Stocks Tank as Wall Street Throws a Hissy Fit|Daniel Gross|November 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
His personal essays are deftly infused with subtle existentialist musings.
This Week’s Hot Reads|Lizzie Crocker, Malcolm Jones|December 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“I consider myself an existentialist and an atheist, and I think that body is what we are,” Cronenberg told The Daily Beast.
David Cronenberg on 'A Dangerous Method,' Robert Pattinson's Acting, and S&M With Keira Knightley|Marlow Stern|November 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for existentialism

existentialism

/ (ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of personal experience and responsibility and the demands that they make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe

Derived forms of existentialism

existentialist, adjective, noun

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

Cultural definitions for existentialism

existentialism

A movement in twentieth-century literature and philosophy, with some forerunners in earlier centuries. Existentialism stresses that people are entirely free and therefore responsible for what they make of themselves. With this responsibility comes a profound anguish or dread. Søren Kierkegaard and Feodor Dostoyevsky in the nineteenth century, and Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus in the twentieth century, were existentialist writers.