What does existence mean?

Definitions for existence
ɪgˈzɪs tənsex·is·tence

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word existence.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. being, beingness, existencenoun

    the state or fact of existing

    "a point of view gradually coming into being"; "laws in existence for centuries"

  2. universe, existence, creation, world, cosmos, macrocosmnoun

    everything that exists anywhere

    "they study the evolution of the universe"; "the biggest tree in existence"

Wiktionary

  1. existencenoun

    The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.

    Most people doubt the existence of the Loch Ness monster.

  2. existencenoun

    empirical reality; the substance of the physical universe Dictionary of Philosophy; 1968

  3. Etymology: From existence, from existentia.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Existence, Existencynoun

    State of being; actual possession of being.

    Etymology: existentia, low Latin.

    Nor is only the existency of this animal considerable, but many things delivered thereof. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, b. iii.

    It is impossible any being can be eternal with successive eternal physical changes, or variety of states or manner of existency, naturally and necessarily concomitant unto it. Matthew Hale.

    The soul, secur’d in her existence, smiles
    At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. Joseph Addison, Cato.

    When a being is considered as possible, it is said to have an essence or nature: such were all things before the creation. When it is considered as actual, then it is said to have existence also. Isaac Watts, Logick.

ChatGPT

  1. existence

    Existence refers to the state or fact of being real or living, having presence in reality or actuality. It can also denote the ability or capacity to continue living or being. Existence is often used in philosophical discussions to contemplate the nature of life, conscious experience, or the universe as a whole.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Existencenoun

    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

  2. Existencenoun

    continued or repeated manifestation; occurrence, as of events of any kind; as, the existence of a calamity or of a state of war

  3. Existencenoun

    that which exists; a being; a creature; an entity; as, living existences

  4. Etymology: [Cf. F. existence.]

Wikidata

  1. Existence

    Existence has been variously defined by sources. In common usage, it is the world one is aware or conscious of through one's senses, and that persists independently in one's absence. Other definitions describe it as everything that 'is', or more simply, everything. Some define it to be everything that most people believe in. Aristotle relates the concept to causality. Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality in general, as well as of the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences. A lively debate continues about the existence of God. Epistemology studies criteria of truth, defining "primary truths" inherently accepted in the investigation of knowledge. The first is existence. It is inherent in every analysis. Its self-evident, a priori nature cannot be consistently doubted, since a person objecting to existence according to some standard of proof must implicitly accept the standard's existence as a premise.

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. existence

    1. A metaphysical term which originally meant joy, but which since the beginning of the Christian era has come to mean pain. 2. To be (used only in the phrase "to be damned"). 3. Merely to live, without eating or drinking. (In London, Paris and New York, this phenomenon is quite common.)

Editors Contribution

  1. existence

    To exist.

    Existence is the reality of to exist.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 18, 2020  

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'existence' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1534

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'existence' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4203

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'existence' in Nouns Frequency: #713

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of existence in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of existence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of existence in a Sentence

  1. Dejan Stojanovic:

    Unborn eternity does not die; existence is dying and falls asleep in the eternity beyond existence.

  2. Dawn Davis:

    Some of the people I talked to were people of color who felt that they were listened to, that they were respected, that there's obviously work to be done, but those challenges didn't scare me away from this opportunity. Honestly, most American companies of a certain size and of a certain length of existence have this work to do.

  3. Oscar Wilde:

    Journalism justifies its own existence by the great Darwinian principle of the survival of the vulgarist.

  4. Prem Rawat:

    It’s easy to be a believer. You can believe anything you want. Knowing is a little bit more specific. You cannot know anything. You can only know that which is. What is? This beautiful breath, this beautiful existence.

  5. City Council:

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said,' the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice,' and it takes all of us to usher it into existence.'.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

existence#1#4375#10000

Translations for existence

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"existence." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/existence>.

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