Word
existence
Phoneticsex·is·tence
US/ɛɡˈzɪstəns/
UK/ɛɡzˈɪstəns/
Definitions
01the state of being real
n. the fact of being real or living.
n. the state of being, existing, or occurring in reality.
“Scientists are still looking for proof of the existence of life on other planets.”
“The discovery of these ancient ruins finally confirmed the existence of a sophisticated civilisation that had previously been considered mythical.”
Antonyms
02a way of living
n. a particular way of life, especially a difficult one.
n. a specific mode of living or staying alive, often used to describe a person's daily life or survival.
“The family led a quiet existence in a small village by the sea.”
“After the economic collapse, many families were forced into a precarious existence, relying entirely on seasonal agricultural work to survive.”
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Yet experiments could not provide direct physical evidence of the Higgs boson's existence before the LHC, which is operated by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.” “Meg had an uneasy relationship with being a public figure during the White Stripes’ active existence.” “For years before his insight, Anselm had been searching for a new way of understanding God’s existence.” Etymology
From Middle English existence, from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”), from existēns, from existō, exsistō (“I am, I exist”), from ex (“out”) + sistere (“to set, place”) (related to stare (“to stand, to be stood”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European stísteh₂ti, from the root steh₂- (“stand”). Cognate with Spanish existencia, French existence, German Existenz. Morphologically exist + -ence.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Word family
Idioms
bane of someone's existence — Someone or something that poses a significant problem to someone.