raison d'être

American  

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

noun

plural

raisons d'être

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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Etymology

Origin of raison d'être

Borrowed into English from French around 1865–70

Example Sentences

It is also working to build the type of cutting-edge AI agents that some investors think threaten its entire raison d’être.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

BeReal’s appeal ended the second the app started pushing users to friend randos and post more than once a day, defeating its entire raison d’être.

From Slate • Dec. 14, 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

I have endeavored to show, in the first place, that the doctrine of focus and margin involves the raison d'être of psychology.

From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Bode, Boyd H.