existentialism
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existentialism
- /ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃəlɪz(ə)m/ UK
- /ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃlɪz(ə)m/ UK
- /ˌɛɡzəˈstɛn(t)ʃəˌlɪzəm/ US
- /ˌɛk-/ US
Rhymes with -ɛnʃəlɪzəm
Where it comes from
From existential + -ism (suffix forming the names of schools of thought, systems, or theories), modelled after German Existentialismus. The word was popularized by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) in his work L’existentialisme est un humanisme (Existentialism is a Humanism, 1946).
noun existentialisms
-
A 20th-century philosophical movement emphasizing the uniqueness of each human existence in freely making its self-defining choices; also (generally), a philosophy which emphasizes existence over essence.
The heyday of existentialism occurred in the mid-twentieth century.
Opposite: noumenalism
- The philosophical views of a particular thinker associated with the existentialist movement. Sartre’s existentialism is atheistic, but the existentialism of Marcel is distinctly Christian.
-
Synonym of structuralism (“a school of thought that focuses on exploring the individual elements of consciousness, how they are organized into more complex experiences, and how these mental phenomena correlate with physical events”).
I sought to 'psychologise' [Franz] Brentano's act as being, existentially, the temporal factor intrinsic to psychological subject-matter. […] My attempt sprang, indeed, from a rather desperate desire somehow to bring intentionalism and existentialism together at close quarters, and to transcend the
Similar: structuralism
Translations
Every language
noun philosophical movement emphasizing the uniqueness of each human existence in freely making its self-defining choices; philosophy which distinguishes and emphasi
| Español | existencialismo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 실존주의 siljonjuui |
| 日本語 | 実存主義 jitsuzonshugi |
| 中文 | 存在主義 /存在主义 cúnzàizhǔyì |
| Português | existencialismo |
| Français | existentialisme |
| Deutsch | Existentialismus |
| Italiano | esistenzialismo |
| Ελληνικά | υπαρξισμός yparxismós |
| Română | existențialism |
| Русский | экзистенциали́зм ekzistencialízm |
| Tiếng Việt | chủ nghĩa hiện sinh, thuyết hiện sinh |
| العربية | وُجُودِيَّة wujūdiyya |
Talk about this word "existentialism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/existentialism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. existentialism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/existentialism "existentialism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/existentialism.Cite this
@misc{existentialism_2026,
title = {existentialism},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/existentialism},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
