raison d'être

[rey-zohn de-truh, re-zawn de-tr^uh]

noun

plural

raisons d'être 

1. reason or justification for being or existence.

   Art is the artist's raison d'être.

raison d'être

/ rɛzɔ̃ dɛtrə /

noun

1. reason or justification for existence

raison d'être

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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of raison d'être¹

Borrowed into English from French around 1865–70

Example Sentences

Lowell, spurned in his romantic life and treated as a black sheep by his dynastic family, found in Mars a calling, a raison d’être.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From BBC

Instead of a unified empire, the smaller kingdoms of the Heptarchy still dominate, their various dangerous machinations providing the raison d’être for the differing orders.

From Los Angeles Times

Reborn as a private citizen, Musk began criticizing the major Republican spending bill working its way through the bowels of Congress—specifically in regards to the trillions of dollars it will add to the national debt, obliterating what was DOGE’s raison d’être.

From Slate

My raison d’etre for living is him, to take care of him, to protect him.

From Los Angeles Times