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Related question - Which word is correct, “existed”, “existent” or “existing” - has an answer that claims that

"existent" would evoke the sense of existence which is related to philosophy and life in general

But in a dictionary I've seen an example:

The report is based on inputs from LDCs and their development partners, including their existent reports.

It is not related to philosophy, isn't it. Is my dictionary wrong, and it is better to say "including their existing reports"?

Update:

This answer presumes that there could be a typo, and the word is "extant", not "existent".

Community
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enkryptor
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  • Both existing and existent are appropriate and would be understood in your sentence. It is idiomatic to refer to such things as nonexistent reports, and it may be that existent is more idiomatic in the negative, while existing is moreso in the positive; but the two words are equivalent in meaning, and there is nothing inherently "philosophical" about the word existent. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Nov 17 '16 at 09:22

1 Answers1

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I think it may be a typo in your passage, the intended word being

extant

meaning "still in existence" especially with documents.

existent

has the meaning of "being" and consciousness, and, as mentioned, is usually used in the negative.

Peter
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