Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Existence
Ex-ist′ence
,Noun.
[Cf. F.
existence
.] 1.
The state of existing or being; actual possession of being; continuance in being;
as, the
existence
of body and of soul in union; the separate existence
of the soul; immortal existence
.The main object of our
existence
. Lubbock.
2.
Continued or repeated manifestation; occurrence, as of events of any kind;
as, the
. existence
of a calamity or of a state of warThe
existence
therefore, of a phenomenon, is but another word for its being perceived, or for the inferred possibility of perceiving it. J. S. Mill.
3.
That which exists; a being; a creature; an entity;
as, living
. existences
Webster 1828 Edition
Existence
EXIST'ENCE
,Noun.
1.
Life; animation.2.
Continued being; duration; continuation. We speak of the existence of troubles or calamities, or of happiness. During the existence of national calamities, our pious ancestors always had recourse to prayer for divine aid.Definition 2024
existence
existence
English
Noun
existence (countable and uncountable, plural existences)
- The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
- However, with the dainty volume my quondam friend sprang into fame. At the same time he cast off the chrysalis of a commonplace existence.
- 2012 March-April, Jeremy Bernstein, “A Palette of Particles”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 146:
- The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier.
- Most people doubt the existence of the Loch Ness monster.
-
- Empirical reality; the substance of the physical universe. (Dictionary of Philosophy; 1968)
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
the state of being, existing, or occurring
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French
Etymology
From Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛɡ.zis.tɑ̃s/
- Rhymes: -ɑ̃s
- Homophone: existences
- Hyphenation: eg‧zis‧tence
Noun
existence f (plural existences)
Synonyms
- (life): vie