experiential
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of experiential
From the Medieval Latin word experientiālis, dating back to 1640–50. See experience, -al 1
Explanation
Something experiential comes from the real world — from experience. Experiential things can be seen, touched, and verified. Some knowledge comes from reading about it. But experiential knowledge comes from actually doing and experiencing it. If you learned to sail by spending every summer on the water with your own boat, then you have an experiential understanding of sailing. If something is experiential, it's real, rather than conceptual. But you can't learn everything experientially. That's what books are for.
Vocabulary lists containing experiential
The Left Hand of Darkness
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Turtles All the Way Down
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Watch Us Rise
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He also noted “continued momentum from our non-alcoholic mocktails, providing a premium and experiential beverage experience” with offerings like its strawberry peach refresher and Aussie-themed mocktails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
For others, experiential assessment is enough: Does anyone in your home regularly trip over books?
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Politics is everyday, emotional and experiential," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
By the early 1990s, some crews in the U.K. began throwing megaraves more spiritually akin to experiential carnivals than to more lowkey dance-floor-and-DJ setups.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Examining experiential differences between improvisation and composition in children’s music-making.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
