raison d'être

[ rey-zohn de-truh; French re-zawn de-truh ]

noun

, plural rai·sons d'ê·tre [rey, -zohnz , de, -tr, uh, r, e-zaw, n, , de, -t, r, uh].

1. reason or justification for being or existence:

   Art is the artist's raison d'être.

raison d'être

/ rɛzɔ̃ dɛtrə /

noun

1. reason or justification for existence

raison d'être

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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of raison d'être¹

Borrowed into English from French around 1865–70

Example Sentences

For many aspiring comedians, earning a place on SNL is their entire raison d'être.

From The Daily Beast

The strength, the originality, the true raison d'être of the Provençal speech resides in its rich vocabulary.

From Project Gutenberg

Incapable of foresight, the nobles were the first to break with the traditions that were their only raison d'être.

From Project Gutenberg

Not until one leg dangles in the grave is their raison d'être disclosed.

From Project Gutenberg

Part, then, of the raison d'être of the repeat ceased to exist.

From Project Gutenberg

Before we Americans adopt fashions because they are English, we had better find out the raison d'être for their existence.

From Project Gutenberg