raison d'etre
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.
See Examples For:
"But you also knew that his raison d'etre was to sort of catch you in the off moment."
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
A concert might sound like an odd raison d’etre for visiting a foreign country, especially when fans can watch the Eras Tour from home via the documentary now streaming on Disney+.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
Outstanding work, Desai agreed, has to be the raison d’etre of their collective efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
How much mileage can there be in a literary magazine whose raison d’etre is just: Taco Bell?
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2023
The scene is described with not a little skill and ingenuity, but it has little raison d'etre save the gratification of the taste for witchcraft which Lucan shared with his audience and his fellow poets.
From Post-Augustan Poetry From Seneca to Juvenal by Harold Edgeworth Butler
But she’s also the kind of television personality who is comfortable before the camera without being in love with it, or giving the impression that media success is her raison d’être.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 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
Not far away, at Pepa Bar a Vins, irreverence was the raison d’être.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025
Lowell, spurned in his romantic life and treated as a black sheep by his dynastic family, found in Mars a calling, a raison d’être.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
That a notebook should be attractive and convenient for reference is its raison d’être.
From Talks to Freshman Girls by Helen Dawes Brown
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