{
    "term": "existence",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "the state or fact of being real or living or of being present",
            "sensetop": "in existenceexistence as something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I was unaware of his existence until today."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to believe in the existence of God"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the mystery of **human existence**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The **continued existence** of the industry depends on the investment of public money."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The islanders depend on a good harvest for their **very existence** *(= in order to continue to live)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The **mere existence** of these strange creatures fascinated him."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Some groups in the industry seek to **deny the existence** of a global warming problem."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The school owed its existence to the generosity of one man."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The company has been in existence since 1924.",
                    "contextForm": "in existence"
                },
                {
                    "text": "This is the oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Pakistan **came into existence** as an independent country in 1947.",
                    "contextForm": "existence as something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The book acknowledges the existence of graffiti as an art form."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Several species are in danger of being hunted out of existence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There was a fear that the club might go out of existence for lack of support."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Darwin viewed the struggle for existence as being the major promoter of evolution."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Deep down I resented his existence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "El Cid's actual existence is not in doubt."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He claimed to be able to remember a previous existence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "How do you explain the existence of closely related species in widely separated locations?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Scientists were able to verify the existence of this particle."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The company's existence depends on continued growth."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The girl's parents continued to ignore her very existence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The idea has been in existence for centuries."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is research that strongly supports the existence of repressed memories."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Throughout its entire existence, it has been a deeply contested concept."
                },
                {
                    "text": "his yearning for a more meaningful existence"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the only instrument of its kind in existence"
                },
                {
                    "text": "to prove scientifically the existence or non-existence of ghosts"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["actual", "real", "possible"],
                "verb + existence": ["be in", "have", "come into"],
                "existence + verb": ["depend on something", "depend upon something"],
                "preposition": ["in existence"],
                "phrases": ["the struggle for existence"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a way of living, especially when this is difficult or boring",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The family endured a **miserable existence** in a cramped apartment."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They eke out a **precarious existence** *(= they have hardly enough money to live on)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He lives a **hand-to-mouth existence** *(= he has only enough money for basic needs such as food)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We led a poor but happy enough existence as children."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They had lived such a sheltered existence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a comfortable middle-class existence"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["bare", "hand-to-mouth", "meagre/​meager"],
                "verb + existence": ["enjoy", "have", "lead"],
                "phrases": ["a mode of existence"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzɪstəns/",
                "audio": "ex/existence/existence__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzɪstəns/",
                "audio": "ex/existence/existence__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: from Old French, or from late Latin existentia, from Latin exsistere ‘come into being’, from ex- ‘out’ + sistere ‘take a stand’."
}