existential

adjective

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

ˌek-(ˌ)si-

1

: of, relating to, or affirming existence

existential propositions

an existential crisis

the existential threat of climate change

2

a

: grounded in existence or the experience of existence : empirical

existential phenomenology

b

: having being in time and space

… abstractions, ideal gauges without claim to existential reality …

—W. Wolfgang Holdheim

3

: concerned with or involving human existence or its nature : existentialist

an existential novel

existentially adverb

Synonyms of existential

• empirical
• observational
• objective
• experimental

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

For Ukraine, this entire episode may seem like yet another bitter, existential betrayal by an American leader who has at times acknowledged a begrudging respect for Kyiv’s bold military tactics. — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026

Analysts have warned the Iranian regime, facing an existential threat to its rule, could re-escalate the war and take back its grip on the oil trade. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

Capability gains in ever more powerful models sparked industry-wide warnings of existential risks to humanity in September. — Kai Nicol-Schwarz,michael Considine, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026

Cases of the week often extend into what feels like contemporary science-fiction, where the drastic implications of Big Tech’s overreach represent the existential threat to humanity they’re often feared (or touted) to be. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026

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

Rhymes for existential

• consequential
• deferential
• exponential
• influential
• nonessential
• penitential
• precedential
• preferential
• presidential
• providential
• referential
• residential