existential

adjective

ex·​is·​ten·​tial ˌeg-(ˌ)zi-ˈsten(t)-shəl 

ˌek-(ˌ)si-

1

: of, relating to, or affirming existence

existential propositions

2

a

: grounded in existence or the experience of existence : empirical

b

: having being in time and space

3

: existentialist

existentially adverb

Synonyms

• empirical
• empiric
• experiential
• experimental
• objective
• observational

Examples of existential in a Sentence

child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim believed that fairy tales help children cope with their existential anxieties and dilemmas

Recent Examples on the Web

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and other politicians and industry officials have described Trump’s tariff proposal as an existential threat to the country’s recovering automotive industry. —Melissa Repko,gabrielle Fonrouge,michael Wayland,amelia Lucas, CNBC, 20 Jan. 2025

The implication, of course, is that Chinese ownership poses an existential threat to American democracy by putting our personal data and our recommendation algorithms within the Chinese government's grasp. —Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 17 Jan. 2025

Painting immigration as an existential threat to the country has long been a key part of Trump's brand, and taking decisive action on immigration off the bat will be particularly important in appealing to his base. —Monica Potts, ABC News, 17 Jan. 2025

But the menace that is the ‘tech-industrial complex’ will have to compete for space within Democratic heads among so many other existential right-wing threats. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin existentiālis, exsistentiālis, from existentia, exsistentia existence + Latin -ālis -al entry 1; in the 19th and 20th centuries in part as translation of Danish existentiel (later eksistentiel) & German existentiell

Note: Compare "Existentielt Indlæg" ("existential contribution") in the subtitle of Søren Kierkegaard's Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler (1846; Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments), used also elsewhere in the work.

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing existential

• existential quantifier