as in empirical
based on observation or experience
child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim believed that fairy tales help children cope with their existential anxieties and dilemmas
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Recent Examples of existential
Gracia Grande, the program officer at the Salvadoran branch of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, told CNN that the law is an existential threat to her NGO’s work.
—
Michael Rios, CNN Money, 1 June 2025
Martina Albertazzi | Bloomberg | Getty Images During the depths of the Covid pandemic, with restaurants around the country facing an existential crisis, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu had an unconventional proposal.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 31 May 2025
Some observers see in Google’s latest moves nothing short of an existential threat to the open web — and, by extension, to digital journalism.
—Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
The issues of direct funding, provision of overhead, and student visas are important (existential to some schools) and will presumably be litigated and resolved over time.
—Jeffrey Herbst, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for existential
Michael Rios, CNN Money, 1 June 2025
Martina Albertazzi | Bloomberg | Getty Images During the depths of the Covid pandemic, with restaurants around the country facing an existential crisis, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu had an unconventional proposal.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 31 May 2025
Some observers see in Google’s latest moves nothing short of an existential threat to the open web — and, by extension, to digital journalism.
—Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
The issues of direct funding, provision of overhead, and student visas are important (existential to some schools) and will presumably be litigated and resolved over time.
—Jeffrey Herbst, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for existential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for existential
Adjective
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The empirical evidence, however, suggests otherwise.—
Dave Wessner,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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And despite claims that providing unemployment insurance will encourage striking workers to stay out longer, both common sense and empirical evidence suggest otherwise.—
Ed Hawthorne,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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The intent of this article is to provide objective information; however, readers should be aware that the author may have a financial interest in the subject matter discussed.—
Joel Shulman,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
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And all of us—users, voters, citizens—can demand that AI serve science and objective truth, not just correlations.—
Erik Otárola-Castillo,
Time,
7 June 2025
Adjective
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The Annecy team has been incredibly supportive of this experimental journey.—
Jamie Lang,
Variety,
8 June 2025
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Effect of different types of textile fabric on spermatogenesis: an experimental study National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.—
Sara Novak,
Discover Magazine,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Existential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/existential. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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