Existence

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ɛɡ.ˈzɪ.stÉ›nts/, /ɪɡ.ˈzɪ.stÉ›nts/

Origin

From Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia ("existence").

Full definition of existence

Noun

1. The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 1, However, with the dainty volume my quondam friend sprang into fame. At the same time he cast off the chrysalis of a commonplace existence.
• 2012, Jeremy Bernstein, A Palette of Particles, The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier.
2. Most people doubt the existence of the Loch Ness monster.
3. Empirical reality; the substance of the physical universe. (Dictionary of Philosophy; 1968)

Antonyms

• nothingness

Derived terms

• nonexistence

Related terms

• exist
• aseity
• existential