something having real or distinct existence; a thing, esp when considered as independent of other things existence or being
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
en•ti•ty /ˈɛntɪti/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -ties.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- something that exists as a distinct, separate, independent, or self-contained unit:Germany was a single entity before World War II, became two entities after the war, and now is one entity again.
en•ti•ty
(en′ti tē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ties.
en•ti•ta•tive
(en′ti tā′tiv),USA pronunciation adj.
en′ti•ta′tive•ly, adv.
- something that has a real existence; thing:corporeal entities.
- being or existence, esp. when considered as distinct, independent, or self-contained:He conceived of society as composed of particular entities requiring special treatment.
- essential nature:The entity of justice is universality.
- Medieval Latin entitās, equivalent. to enti- (stem of ēns), present participle of esse to be + -tās -ty2
- 1590–1600
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'entity' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-ator
- -zoon
- Arts and Crafts Movement
- Australian Capital Territory
- British Somaliland
- Gaia hypothesis
- Keogh plan
- West Bank
- acceptor
- accident
- accounting
- analysis
- analyze
- atom
- atomic structure
- atomic theory
- autotelic
- battery
- bodily
- body
- body politic
- boundary
- center of gravity
- class
- complex
- conflate
- conflation
- conformation
- cosmological argument
- differentia
- dualism
- element
- embody
- ens
- essence
- existence
- fictitious person
- fixed-length
- geography
- good
- heavyweight
- heterotelic
- incorporeity
- indifferentism
- individual
- individuality
- individuate
- inner child
- integer
- invariant