Words / C2

ek-STANT/ekˈstænt/

Extant means it still exists — it was not lost, destroyed, or wiped out. Historians and scholars use it of manuscripts, buildings, species. Do not confuse it with extent (size). In speech say still surviving or still around; extant is catalogue language.

Meaning

Still in existence; not destroyed or lost.

Examples

• “Few extant copies of the book remain.”
• “Only three extant letters describe the voyage.”
• “The chapel is the oldest extant part of the house.”

Good to know

Still in existence. Not extent. Everyday: surviving.

Near in meaning

surviving

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