egence means the state of needing, or of suffering a natural want. It carries an Arena rating of 1600, earned across 29 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, egence ranks #943 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #1,882 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,975 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #5,327 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
Why “egence” is a great word
EGENCE — [Noun] The state of inherent need or fundamental want. From Latin egens, egentis, present participle of egere ("to be needy, suffer want"). Unlike "exigency," which denotes an urgent, pressing demand, or "poverty," which specifies material destitution, egence is the quiet, persistent substrate of lack upon which more dramatic deprivations are built. It is the hollow behind the ribs before one names it hunger, the shallow thirst of roots in dry soil, and the silent, ceaseless pull of a plant toward light. The world rests on a foundation of egence, and we are born into its grammar.
Etymology
From Latin egens, egentis, present participle of egere (“to be needy, suffer want”).
noun
- The state of needing, or of suffering a natural want.e.g.“Egence is the life of the universe : the highest forms of egence are variously called ' love ' : the lowest are simple appetence , perhaps merely physical .” — 1876, John Grote, Treatise on Moral Ideals:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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