existential

«existential» in Mova's school dictionary: to do with existence, especially the big questions about… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (existential)

meaning for a pupil

1) Existential means to do with existence, especially the big questions about why we exist and what life means. tree →

2) An existential threat or danger is one that could end something completely, such as a species, a country or the world. tree →

3) (informal) An «existential crisis» is a time when someone worries deeply about the meaning of their life, often used jokingly. tree →

sense in the lessons

In philosophy and big-questions lessons, existential questions are «Why am I here?» and «What is the point of life?». In the news, climate change or a war may be called an existential threat. Young people sometimes joke about having an existential crisis over small things. Phrases: «existential questions», «existential threat», «existential crisis».

examples

• Asking «Why do we exist?» is an existential question. tree →
• Some scientists call climate change an existential threat. tree →
• My brother had an existential crisis when he turned eighteen. tree →
• Losing its forest is an existential danger for the orangutan. tree →
• Philosophers have argued about existential ideas for centuries. tree →
• «I'm having an existential crisis about which cereal to choose,» joked Mum. tree →

note

Formal word. Related: exist, existence; existentialism (a philosophy of the 1900s). In grammar, «there is / there are» is called an existential sentence.

In the corpora

• "Existential" questions are big questions about life and why we are here; almost everyone wonders about them sometimes.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «existential» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.