existence
English
Etymology
From Middle English existence, from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”).
Morphologically exist + -ence.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/, /ɪɡˈzɪs.təns/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
existence (countable and uncountable, plural existences)
- The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.
- Synonym: presence
- In order to destroy evil, we must first acknowledge its existence.
- 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 71:
- Fortunate it is for the tranquillity of the new-born infant, if he have any turn for philosophy, that he understands none of the nonsense consecrated by old usage to the commencement of existence.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
- 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.
- 2020 June 29, Wendi, “The Loyal General Yue Fei”, in Minghui:
- The ancients said, “A ruler should exist for the existence of the people.” The famous thinker, Mencius noted, “The people are the most valuable, then the country, and the ruler comes last.”
- Empirical reality; the substance of the physical universe. (Dictionary of Philosophy; 1968)
Synonyms
- (state of being): See also Thesaurus:existence
Antonyms
- (state of being): nonexistence, nothingness; See also Thesaurus:inexistence
Derived terms
- bane of someone's existence
- co-existence
- in existence
- non-existence
- nonexistence
- self-existence
- three marks of existence
Related terms
- exist
- aseity
- existential
Translations
state of being, existing, or occurring
|
empirical reality
|
Anagrams
- ectexines
Czech
Etymology
Ultimately from Latin existentia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɛɡzɪstɛnt͡sɛ]
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: exi‧s‧ten‧ce
- Rhymes: -ɛntsɛ
Noun
existence f
- existence
Declension
Declension of existence
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | existence | existence |
genitive | existence | existenc |
dative | existenci | existencím |
accusative | existenci | existence |
vocative | existence | existence |
locative | existenci | existencích |
instrumental | existencí | existencemi |
Related terms
Related terms
- asistence
- asistent
- asistovat
- existenciální
- existencialismus
- existencialista
- existencialistický
- existenční
- existovat
- koexistence
- koexistovat
- konzistence
- konzistentní
- perzistence
- perzistentní
- perzistovat
- rezistence
- rezistor
- subsistence
- tranzistor
Further reading
- existence in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- existence in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
- existence in Internetová jazyková příručka
French
Etymology
From Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛɡ.zis.tɑ̃s/
Audio (France, Paris) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑ̃s
- Homophone: existences
- Hyphenation: ex‧is‧tence
Noun
existence f (plural existences)
- existence
- life
- Synonym: vie
Related terms
- exister
- existentiel
Further reading
- “existence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.