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Definitions

raison d'etre

[rey-zohn de-truh, re-zawn de-truh] / ˈreɪ zoʊn ˈdɛ trə, rɛ zɔ̃ ˈdɛ trə /
NOUN
reason for being
Synonyms
WEAK
basis justification for existing rationale reason for existing reason why
raison d'être
NOUN
reason for being
Synonyms
WEAK
basis justification for existing rationale reason for existing reason why

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Couple the above with ExpressVPN’s pretty stringent privacy policy, you begin to understand that ExpressVPN is more of an “old school” VPN provider, for which security and privacy are a VPN’s raison d’être.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026

The raison d’être for all things art-related happening here in late February.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

But, for smaller companies whose AI offerings are their raison d’être, there are pros and cons of the new era.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

BeReal’s appeal ended the second the app started pushing users to friend randos and post more than once a day, defeating its entire raison d’être.

From Slate • Dec. 14, 2025

The epistemological problem of the relation of the mind to reality becomes, accordingly, the raison d'être of his method.

From John Dewey's logical theory by Howard, Delton Thomas