existential
Concerning one's existence
Existential relates to existence itself—the fact or experience of being alive.
In philosophy, existential questions concern meaning, purpose, freedom, and mortality: an existential crisis, existential dread.
More broadly, existential describes threats to continued existence: Climate change poses an existential risk.
The word carries weight, suggesting fundamental rather than superficial concerns.
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
Beauvoir · Marcel · Dostoevsky · phenomenology · ontology · Dasein · being · essence
Intense anticipatory fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- despairTotal absence of hope
- ennuiWeary, listless dissatisfaction
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
futility · emptiness · void · hopelessness · nihilism · uncertainty · melancholy · isolation
Who someone is
- purposeReason something exists
- meaningWhat something signifies
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
uncertainty · confusion · struggle · search · mortality · finitude · breakdown · transformation
Emotional separation between people
- isolationComplete separation from others
- disconnectionState of being severed
- rootlessnessState of having no anchor
- solitudeState of being alone
loneliness · detachment · separation · displacement · exile · unbelonging · marginalization · otherness
Condemned eternal boulder roller
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- futilityLack of purpose
paradox · irrational · Kafkaesque · incongruity · randomness · pointlessness · chaos · revolt
Quality of being genuine
- genuinenessQuality of being real
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- individualityUnique personal character
selfhood · integrity · self-deception · sincerity · congruence · self-expression · self-actualization · truthfulness
Remaining alive against odds
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- nuclearOf atomic energy
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
climate · pandemic · warfare · destruction · humanity · civilization · species · collapse
Sartre
French existentialist philosopher
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- NietzscheGerman philosopher of will
Camus · Beauvoir · Marcel · Dostoevsky · phenomenology · ontology · Dasein · being · essence · freedom
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- despairTotal absence of hope
- ennuiWeary, listless dissatisfaction
meaninglessness · futility · emptiness · void · hopelessness · nihilism · uncertainty · melancholy · isolation · solitude
identity
Who someone is
- purposeReason something exists
- meaningWhat something signifies
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
self-doubt · uncertainty · confusion · struggle · search · mortality · finitude · breakdown · transformation · reckoning
estrangement
Emotional separation between people
- isolationComplete separation from others
- disconnectionState of being severed
- rootlessnessState of having no anchor
solitude · loneliness · detachment · separation · displacement · exile · unbelonging · marginalization · otherness · inauthenticity
Sisyphus
Condemned eternal boulder roller
- CamusFrench absurdist author-philosopher
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
futility · paradox · irrational · Kafkaesque · incongruity · randomness · pointlessness · chaos · revolt · defiance
authenticity
Quality of being genuine
- genuinenessQuality of being real
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
individuality · selfhood · integrity · self-deception · sincerity · congruence · self-expression · self-actualization · truthfulness · originality
survival
Remaining alive against odds
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- nuclearOf atomic energy
catastrophe · climate · pandemic · warfare · destruction · humanity · civilization · species · collapse · apocalypse
- grammardeclension, pronouns, adjectives, conjugation, nouns
- philosophical termsSocratic, Kantian, Cartesian, Aristotelian, dialectical
- Propositionsstatement, assertion, claim, premise, conclusion
- thought-provokingstimulating, fascinating, intriguing, engaging, compelling
- logicpremise, premises, conclusion, conclusions, inference
- verb aspectsperfective, progressive, habitual, stative, continuous
existentialtrivial
Lacking significance or weight
superficial · mundane · inconsequential · frivolous · petty
existentialessentialist
Believer in fixed natures
Platonic · deterministic · phenomenal · universalist · transcendental
existentialsurvivable
Capable of being outlasted
manageable · containable · recoverable · limited · localized
- existential crisisProfound questioning of life's meaning
- existential threatPeril to survival itself
- existential dreadTerror at meaningless being
- existential angstDistress over life's meaninglessness
- existential crisesTurmoil over life's significance
- existential questionsInquiries about purpose and being
existentialism, existentially, existential crisis, existential risk