existential
adjective
Simple meaning
About part of a clause that indicates existence, e.g.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehgzihstehnchuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɛɡzɪsˈtɛntʃəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Relating to or dealing with existence (especially with human existence)
linguistics
Relating to part of a clause that indicates existence, e.g. "there is".
philosophy
Of or relating to existentialism.
Concerning the very existence of something, especially with regard to extinction.
philosophy
Of or as conceived by existentialism
Based on experience; empirical.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Relating to or dealing with existence (especially with human existence)
Used this way, existential is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use existential
- “An existential moment of choice.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Relating
Based
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A logical quantifier of a proposition that asserts the existence of at least one thing for which the proposition is true.
A logical quantifier of a proposition that asserts the existence of at least one thing for which the proposition is true.
A philosopher who emphasizes freedom of choice and personal responsibility but who regards human existence in a hostile universe as unexplainable.
A 20th-century philosophical movement chiefly in Europe.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.