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self-existent

American  
[self-ig-zis-tuhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf ɪgˈzɪs tənt, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

  1. existing independently of any cause, as God.

  2. having an independent existence.


self-existent British  

adjective

  1. philosophy existing independently of any other being or cause

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of self-existent

First recorded in 1695–1705

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.

See Examples For:

For one thing, every proof seems to have a plausible refutation; for another, only a committed Thomist is likely to be spiritually moved by the realization that there is a self-existent Prime Mover.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lewis dismissed the philosophy that mind results from nature: "If any thought is valid, an eternal, self-existent Reason must exist and must be the source of my own imperfect and intermittent rationality."

From Time Magazine Archive

From hence we infer, that God is as eternal and infinite in his goodness, as his self-existent and perfect nature is omnipotently great.

From Reason, The Only Oracle of Man Or a Compendius System of Natural Religion by Ethan Allen

The sole, self-existent power, having willed to produce various beings from his own divine substance, first, with a thought created the waters, and placed in them a productive seed.

From Ophiolatreia An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the World by Anonymous

But inasmuch as reality is individual and self-existent, whereas truth is universal, truth and reality are not coincident.

From International Congress of Arts and Science, Volume I Philosophy and Metaphysics by Various

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