raison d'être

American  

[rey-zohn de-truh, re-zawn de-tr^uh] / ˈreɪ zoʊn ˈdɛ trə, rɛ zɔ̃ ˈdɛ trə /

noun

raisons d'être plural

1. reason or justification for being or existence.

   Art is the artist's raison d'être.

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raison d'être British  

/ rɛzɔ̃ dɛtrə /

noun

1. reason or justification for existence

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raison d'être Cultural  

1. A basic, essential purpose; a reason to exist: “Professor Naylor argues that in the nuclear age, infantry forces have lost their raison d'être.” From French, meaning “reason for being.”

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• raisons d'être
  plural

Etymology

Origin of raison d'être

Borrowed into English from French around 1865–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

raison d'être

But, for smaller companies whose AI offerings are their raison d’être, there are pros and cons of the new era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

The problem isn’t the production but the musical’s shifting raison d’être.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025

Unrestrained power, of course, is the president’s raison d’être.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2025

Fundamentally, the format's raison d'être is now under question.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2025

The activities tend to become objects of value in themselves, whether or not their original raison d'être persist.

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.