existentially
Americanadverb
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in a way that is part of the very existence of a particular person or thing; inherently.
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in a way that affects or relates to existence, especially as a challenge or threat; in an existential way.
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.
But if feeling existentially threatened, Tehran could pressure the group to join the fray.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
Prof Jon Butterworth of University College London, described the level of cuts as "existentially threatening" to UK particle physics.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
“In an environment where the geoeconomic stability of the Western alliance is being disrupted existentially, it is not clear why Europeans would be as willing to play this part,” he continued.
From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026
The New Jersey Department of Transportation officially called one of the sinkholes a “significant void”—the most existentially accurate description of my beloved home state.
From Slate • Oct. 17, 2025
There was this tunnel that these two kids kept crawling through over and over and they never seemed to get tired, which made me think of Augustus Waters and the existentially fraught free throws.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
