existential

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

/ ˌɛg zɪˈstɛn ʃəl, ˌɛk sɪ- /

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adjective

of or relating to existence: Does climate change pose an existential threat to humanity?

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

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM existential

ex·is·ten·tial·ly, adverbnon·ex·is·ten·tial, adjectivenon·ex·is·ten·tial·ly, adverbun·ex·is·ten·tial, adjective

un·ex·is·ten·tial·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use existential in a sentence

He has called climate change an existential threat and proposed a four-year, $2 trillion domestic spending plan to combat climate change and environmental racism — the most ambitious blueprint ever released by a major party nominee for president.
The U.S. will leave the Paris climate accord on Nov. 4. But voters will decide for how long.|Steven Mufson, Brady Dennis|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
Those existential questions weren’t even on her radar when Rachel, 26, who recently took a Senate staff job, applied to Date Lab more than a year ago.
Date Lab: Her religion was very important to her. Would this first date be a miracle?|Sarah Wildman|October 29, 2020|Washington Post
However, in serious matters — whether existential or editorial — there are human problems that require humans to solve them with AI in a supporting role.
Solving content moderation requires humans, AI is not good enough|Taboola|October 26, 2020|Digiday
The world’s movie theaters are—for real this time—facing an existential crisis.
AMC Theatres are facing a dramatic cliffhanger|Adam Epstein|October 24, 2020|Quartz

The good news, if you can call it that, is that few of these risks are truly existential, spelling the very end of the human race.
Don’t worry, the earth is doomed|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
When I feel existentially attacked, my back goes up, my formulations harder, I become more combative.
First Step to Peace: Admitting that it's Complicated|Yehudah Mirsky|May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The other characters struggle, too, to varying material degrees, but all existentially.
Great Weekend Reads|The Daily Beast|November 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
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
They exist only so long as they are apprehended; and they are numerically and existentially distinct in each individual mind.
A Commentary to Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'|Norman Kemp Smith
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

British Dictionary definitions for existential

existential

/ (ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃəl) /

adjective

of or relating to existence, esp human existence

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

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

of or relating to existentialism

noun logic

an existential statement or formula
short for existential quantifier

Derived forms of existential

existentially, 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

existential

Origin of existential

OTHER WORDS FROM existential

Words related to existential

How to use existential in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for existential

Derived forms of existential