1
a
: currently or actually existing
the most charming writer extant—
G. W. Johnson
G. W. Johnson
b
: still existing : not destroyed or lost
extant manuscripts
2
archaic
: standing out or above
Examples of extant in a Sentence
There is, he reports, no extant copy of the Super Bowl I television broadcast; nobody bothered to keep the tapes.
—Joe Queenan, New York Times Book Review, 1 Feb. 2009
First produced in the spring of 472 BC, Persians is noteworthy in the corpus of the thirty-two extant Greek tragedies in that it is the only classical Greek drama that dramatizes an actual historical event.
—Daniel Mendelsohn, New York Review, 21 Sept. 2006
[George] Lucas' brain teemed with plots and characters, exotic creatures, worlds to be spun out of the words and sketches in his notebooks. Also, by numbering the extant episodes IV, V and VI, he was implicitly promising a prequel trilogy …
—Richard Corliss, Time, 9 May 2005
There are few extant records from that period.
one of the oldest buildings still extant
Joe Queenan, New York Times Book Review, 1 Feb. 2009
First produced in the spring of 472 BC, Persians is noteworthy in the corpus of the thirty-two extant Greek tragedies in that it is the only classical Greek drama that dramatizes an actual historical event.
—Daniel Mendelsohn, New York Review, 21 Sept. 2006
[George] Lucas' brain teemed with plots and characters, exotic creatures, worlds to be spun out of the words and sketches in his notebooks. Also, by numbering the extant episodes IV, V and VI, he was implicitly promising a prequel trilogy …
—Richard Corliss, Time, 9 May 2005
There are few extant records from that period.
one of the oldest buildings still extant
Recent Examples on the Web
Speaking to the Times, McAndrew cited the need to expand art sales beyond its extant core market; the report noted that the increase in low-dough sales highlights the importance of smaller galleries in doing so.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Apr. 2025
But the potential credibility risks, while still extant, would surely be lower than with any deployment of land forces.
—Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
Speaking to the Times, McAndrew cited the need to expand art sales beyond its extant core market; the report noted that the increase in low-dough sales highlights the importance of smaller galleries in doing so.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Apr. 2025
After investors opted to cut their losses on the enfeebled Chicken Soup entertainment group (a spinoff from the still-extant publishing company), the company wound up in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extant
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News Desk, Artforum, 8 Apr. 2025
But the potential credibility risks, while still extant, would surely be lower than with any deployment of land forces.
—Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
Speaking to the Times, McAndrew cited the need to expand art sales beyond its extant core market; the report noted that the increase in low-dough sales highlights the importance of smaller galleries in doing so.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Apr. 2025
After investors opted to cut their losses on the enfeebled Chicken Soup entertainment group (a spinoff from the still-extant publishing company), the company wound up in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extant
Cite this Entry
“Extant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extant. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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