v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Existed; p. pr. & vb. n. Existing. ] [ L. existere, exsistere, to step out or forth, emerge, appear, exist; ex out + sistere to cause to stand, to set, put, place, stand still, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. exister. See Stand. ] 1. To be as a fact and not as a mode; to have an actual or real being, whether material or spiritual. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who now, alas! no more is missed
Than if he never did exist. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

To conceive the world . . . to have existed from eternity. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be manifest in any manner; to continue to be; as, great evils existed in his reign. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To live; to have life or the functions of vitality; as, men can not exist in water, nor fishes on land.

Syn. -- See Be. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. existence. ] 1. The state of existing or being; actual possession of being; continuance in being; as, the existence of body and of soul in union; the separate existence of the soul; immortal existence. [ 1913 Webster ]

The main object of our existence. Lubbock. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Continued or repeated manifestation; occurrence, as of events of any kind; as, the existence of a calamity or of a state of war. [ 1913 Webster ]

The existence therefore, of a phenomenon, is but another word for its being perceived, or for the inferred possibility of perceiving it. J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which exists; a being; a creature; an entity; as, living existences. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Existence. [ R. ] Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. existens, -entis, p. pr. of existere. See Exist. ] Having being or existence; existing; being; occurring now; taking place. [ 1913 Webster ]

The eyes and mind are fastened on objects which have no real being, as if they were truly existent. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having existence. [ Archaic ] Bp. Barlow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. of or pertaining to, or having the character of, existentialism. [ PJC ]

3. (Logic) specifying actual existence, rather than only possibility; as, the existential operator. [ PJC ]

--Ex`is*ten"tial*ly, adv. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]

Existentially as well as essentially intelligent. Colerige. [1913 Webster]

n. (Philosophy) a philosophical theory or attitude having various interpretations, generally emphasising the existence of the individual as a unique agent with free will and responsibility for his or her own acts, though living in a universe devoid of any certain knowledge of right and wrong; from one's plight as a free agent with uncertain guidelines may arise feelings of anguish. Existentialism is concerned more with concrete existence rather than abstract theories of essences; is contrasted with rationalism and empiricism; and is associated with Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre, as well as others. [ PJC ]

n. One who exists. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of existence. Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. existimatio judgment, opinion, fr. existimare to estimate. See Estimate. ] Esteem; opinion; reputation. [ Obs. ] Steele. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having existence or being or actuality; as, much of the beluga caviar existing in the world is found in the Soviet Union and Iran. Opposite of nonexistent. [ Narrower terms: active, alive; extant, surviving ] Also See: extant.
Syn. -- existent. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. Present. Opposite of absent. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. Presently existing; as, the existing system. [ WordNet 1.5 ]