raison d'être

American  

[rey-zohn de-truh, re-zawn de-tr^uh] / ˈreɪ zoʊn ˈdɛ trə, rɛ zɔ̃ ˈdɛ trə /

noun

PLURAL

raisons d'être

1. reason or justification for being or existence.

   Art is the artist's raison d'être.

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raison d'être British  

/ rɛzɔ̃ dɛtrə /

noun

1. reason or justification for existence

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raison d'être Cultural  

1. A basic, essential purpose; a reason to exist: “Professor Naylor argues that in the nuclear age, infantry forces have lost their raison d'être.” From French, meaning “reason for being.”

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Etymology

Origin of raison d'être

Borrowed into English from French around 1865–70

Example Sentences

BeReal’s appeal ended the second the app started pushing users to friend randos and post more than once a day, defeating its entire raison d’être.

From Slate

Not far away, at Pepa Bar a Vins, irreverence was the raison d’être.

From Salon

The problem isn’t the production but the musical’s shifting raison d’être.

From Los Angeles Times

Unrestrained power, of course, is the president’s raison d’être.

From Salon

Lowell, spurned in his romantic life and treated as a black sheep by his dynastic family, found in Mars a calling, a raison d’être.

From Los Angeles Times