Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
raison d'être

raison d'être

9 8.8
The main reason a person or thing exists
  • noun
  • /ˌreɪ.zɒ̃ ˈdeɪ.tər/
  • Formal
translation icon : razón de ser
  • There is no other raison d'être for the life of the mind.
  • lost its raison d'être
  • part of the raison d'être

Examples

  • If there is not, then grading has become arbitrary and without any genuine raison d'être.

    Academic text (2000)

  • For many artists, their raison d'être is to express their thoughts and feelings through their work.

  • We will not have a raison d'être for a new age.

    Academic text (1992)

  • With the end of the Cold War, foreign aid lost its original raison d'être and much of its remaining support.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Information creation and exchange is the raison d'être of the academy.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The military saw the Armed Forces as being the main asset and the very raison d'être of the state.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Ironically, by its very success, the party appeared to have lost the raison d'être for its existence.

    Academic text (2004)

  • If Indian Affairs was successful in addressing the needs of its clients, its raison d'être would cease.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • But the political philosophy that provided the raison d'être of constitutionalism is almost forgotten.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Mining was the initial raison d'être for the Topia Road.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

reason
vsraison d'être
∞ 1.0

A cause or explanation for something that happened

points to the chief cause that explains something's existence
purpose
vsraison d'être
∞ 1.6

The reason something is done or made

is the overriding cause that makes something exist
motive
vsraison d'être
621 3.0

A reason, often hidden, that makes someone do something

is the main cause for something's existence rather than a personal drive
object
vsraison d'être
  • Formal
85 3.7

A goal someone wants to reach

highlights the main cause tied to something's existence rather than a target
rationale
vsraison d'être
79 6.0

A set of reasons that explains a decision or action

states the underlying cause for something's existence rather than a list explaining it
be-all and end-all
vsraison d'être
  • Informal
6 7.6

The most important thing or main aim

is the chief cause that explains why something exists

Antonyms

meaninglessness
4 7.6

A feeling that what you do has no purpose or value

Surface Forms

raison d'être singular
raisons d'être plural

Morphology

raison + d'être

Although the phrase is French, its constituents map transparently onto English meanings ('raison' = reason, 'd\'être' = of/to be), yielding literally 'reason of being' or 'reason for being'. This compositional structure is cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows the component words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Raison d'être literally means 'reason to be' in French, where raison is 'reason' and être is 'to be'. So, people use it to talk about the main 'purpose' or reason someone or something exists.