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existence

exis·tence

US/ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/ common

noun

1.

the state or fact of existing

  • “a point of view gradually coming into being”
  • “laws in existence for centuries”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

everything that exists anywhere

  • “they study the evolution of the universe”
  • “the biggest tree in existence”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English existence, from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”), from existēns, from existō, exsistō (“I am, I exist”), from ex (“out”) + sistere (“to set, place”) (related to stare (“to stand, to be stood”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti, from the root *steh₂- (“stand”). Cognate with Spanish existencia, French existence, German Existenz. Displaced native Old English understandennes (literally, "understanden-ness"). Morphologically exist + -ence.

Phrases

  • bane of someone's existence
  • in existence
  • three marks of existence
  • timeless existence
  • waste of existence

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Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.