Meaning & use
experiential
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Based on or gained through direct personal experience rather than through theory or instruction alone.
Grammar: Used before a noun: experiential learning. Not usually used after a verb like 'be experiential'.
Patterns
- experiential learning
- experiential education
- experiential knowledge
The course combines experiential learning with traditional lectures.
Her experiential knowledge of the culture came from years of living abroad.
The internship provides experiential training in a real workplace.
Common combinations
- experiential learning
- Experiential learning helps students remember what they discover for themselves.
- experiential education
- The school believes in experiential education, so field trips are a regular part of the curriculum.
- experiential knowledge
- He has experiential knowledge of farming from growing up on a farm.
- experiential approach
- The therapist uses an experiential approach, focusing on what clients feel in the moment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- practical
- Practical emphasizes usefulness or hands-on application, while experiential stresses that the knowledge comes from personal experience.
- hands-on
- Hands-on means actively doing something, whereas experiential often implies learning from reflecting on that doing.
Opposites
Word family
- experience noun
- Knowledge or skill gained from doing things.
- experience verb
- To feel or go through something.
- experientially adverb
- In a way that involves direct experience.
Commonly confused: experiential or experimental?
experiential vs experimental
Experimental means based on new, untested ideas, while experiential means based on personal experience.
Practice
The program is designed to give students ______ learning through internships and field projects.
Choose one answer.
Experiential fits because the learning comes from direct experience. Experimental would suggest untested methods, experienced is a past participle meaning 'having experience', and experiental is a misspelling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “experiential”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.