existential

Etymology

Late Latin existentialis, from existentia.

adj

1. Of or relating to existence.
2. Concerning the very existence of something, especially with regard to extinction.
   existential risk
   Jaspers' main concern has been with existential dread, which he regards not as a symptom of mental illness, but as a result of rejecting religious faith. He proposes that man's only way out of existential dread is through a “leap into faith” which reconciles man with himself and with God, and provides an experience of the absolute which transcends mere sense experience. 2013, J. E. Sieber, H. F. O'Neil, Jr., S. Tobias, Anxiety, Learning, and Instruction, Routledge
   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. 2015, James Eaton et al., “Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia”, in Forktail, page 2, column 2
   To Musk, his vast fortune is a mere side effect of his ability not just to see but to do things others cannot, in arenas where the stakes are existential. December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time
3. Based on experience; empirical.
4. (philosophy) Of, or relating to existentialism.
   Some existential thinkers are concerned with artistic expression only indirectly, that is, they are passionately interested critics and analysts of art works. 1997, Thomas Hanna, “Albert Camus: Man in Revolt”, in William Leon McBride, editor, Sartre's French Contemporaries and Enduring Influences (Sarte and Existentialism), Garland, page 356
5. (linguistics) Relating to part of a clause that indicates existence, e.g. "there is".

noun

1. (linguistics) Ellipsis of existential clause.
   We argue that existentials form a radial category, with a prototype and less canonical instances, where the prototype is clearly definable but the actual borderline between existentials and other clause types is fuzzy. 2014, Silvia Luraghi, Tuomas Huumo, Partitive Cases and Related Categories, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, page 153
2. (programming) Ellipsis of existential type.
   Coordinate term: generic