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existential

[eg-zi-sten-shuh l, ek-si-]
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adjective
  1. pertaining to existence.
  2. of, relating to, or characteristic of existentialism: an existential hero.
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Origin of existential

First recorded in 1685–95, existential is from the Late Latin word existentiālis relating to existing. See existence, -al1
Related formsex·is·ten·tial·ly, adverbnon·ex·is·ten·tial, adjectivenon·ex·is·ten·tial·ly, adverbun·ex·is·ten·tial, adjectiveun·ex·is·ten·tial·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for existentially

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • They exist only so long as they are apprehended; and they are numerically and existentially distinct in each individual mind.

  • It is not easy to avoid the conclusion that Dewey conceives of 'consciousness' as a construct of existentially distinct terms.

    John Dewey's logical theory

    Delton Thomas Howard

  • Light is really, physically, existentially, refracted into these forms.

    Creative Intelligence

    John Dewey, Addison W. Moore, Harold Chapman Brown, George H. Mead, Boyd H. Bode, Henry Waldgrave, Stuart James, Hayden Tufts, Horace M. Kallen

British Dictionary definitions for existentially

existential

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
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noun logic
    1. an existential statement or formula
    2. short for existential quantifier
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Derived Formsexistentially, adverb
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 existentially

existential

adj.

1690s, "pertaining to existence," from Late Latin existentialis/exsistentialis, from existentia/exsistentia (see existence). As a term in logic, from 1819; in philosophy, from 1937, tracing back to the Danish works of Kierkegaard (see existentialism). Related: Existentially.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper