adjective Relating to existence, especially the fact or nature of being alive.
- an existential risk or threat
- Here, therefore, we seek to assemble and assess the evidence to provide an overview of how serious trade is as an existential threat to avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia.
— James A. Eaton et al, Trade-driven Extinctions and Near-extinctions of Avian Taxa in Sundaic Indonesia (2015)
- Many people wonder about the existential question of why anything exists at all.
- The documentary explored existential themes like how short life is and what it means.
- The climate crisis poses an existential threat to low-lying island nations.
- Most of the subjects had terminal cancer, and several died within a year after the trial—but not before having a mental adventure that appeared to have eased the existential gloom of their last days.
— Benedict Carey, LSD, reconsidered for therapy (2014)
adjective Relating to existentialism, the philosophy focused on individual freedom, choice, and meaning.
- We read an existential novel in class about a man who must choose his own purpose.
- Her essay compared existential thinkers who believe people create their own meaning through free choices.
- He went through an existential crisis after turning forty, questioning the point of it all.
