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EXISTENCE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Everything that exists anywhere
Example:
the biggest tree in existence
Synonyms:
cosmos; creation; existence; macrocosm; universe; world
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("existence" is a kind of...):
natural object (an object occurring naturally; not made by man)
Meronyms (parts of "existence"):
celestial body; heavenly body (natural objects visible in the sky)
estraterrestrial body; extraterrestrial object (a natural object existing outside the earth and outside the earth's atmosphere)
Meronyms (members of "existence"):
extragalactic nebula; galaxy ((astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and dust)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "existence"):
closed universe ((cosmology) a universe that is spatially closed and in which there is sufficient matter to halt the expansion that began with the big bang; the visible matter is only 10 percent of the matter required for closure but there may be large amounts of dark matter)
natural order (the physical universe considered as an orderly system subject to natural (not human or supernatural) laws)
nature (the natural physical world including plants and animals and landscapes etc.)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The state or fact of existing
Example:
he appeared on the face of the earth one day
Synonyms:
being; beingness; existence; face of the earth
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("existence" is a kind of...):
state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)
Attribute:
existent; existing (having existence or being or actuality)
nonexistent (not having existence or being or actuality)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "existence"):
actuality (the state of actually existing objectively)
eternity; timeless existence; timelessness (a state of eternal existence believed in some religions to characterize the afterlife)
preexistence (existing in a former state or previous to something else)
coexistence (existing peacefully together)
subsistence (the state of existing in reality; having substance)
presence (the state of being present; current existence)
life (the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living)
aliveness; animation; life; living (the condition of living or the state of being alive)
life (a characteristic state or mode of living)
transcendence; transcendency (a state of being or existence above and beyond the limits of material experience)
possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)
Antonym:
nonexistence (the state of not existing)
Derivation:
exist (have an existence, be extant)
existent (presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible)
existent (having existence or being or actuality)
existent (being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory)
existential (relating to or dealing with existence (especially with human existence))
Context examples:
The first signals of the planet's existence were measured by K2.
(NASA's K2 Finds Newborn Exoplanet Around Young Star, NASA)
I doubted I had taken a step which sank instead of raising me in the scale of social existence.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The reservoir’s existence also may be a key to understanding climate history and the potential for life on Mars.
(New Evidence for a Mars Water Reservoir, NASA)
Astronomers have found new evidence for the existence of a mid-sized black hole, considered the missing link in the evolution of supermassive black holes.
(Astronomers Find New Evidence for Long-theorized Mid-sized Black Holes, VOA News)
Astronomers used state-of-the-art instrumentation to confirm the existence of water and a lack of methane in the planet's atmosphere.
(Water Found in Planet 120 Light Years Away, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
But while researchers were looking at ground-based data to confirm the existence of the hot Earth, they uncovered two additional worlds.
(Confirmation of Toasty TESS Planet Leads to Surprising Find of Promising World, NASA)
I had quite forgotten the existence of Leach and Johnson, when suddenly, like a thunderclap, “Boat ho!” came down the open companion-way.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Who is there in England who did know of the existence of this letter?
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It was, of course, of the very first importance that they should not be reminded of the existence of this paper, otherwise they would naturally destroy it without delay.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
