Use the adjective extant to describe old things that are still around, like your extant diary from third grade or the only extant piece of pottery from certain craftspeople who lived hundreds of years ago.

Choose Your Words extant / extent They sounds similar and both have exes, but extant means “still here,” and extent refers to “the range of something.” People get them mixed up to a certain extent. Continue reading...

Extant is the opposite of extinct: it refers to things that are here — they haven't disappeared or been destroyed. Use extant to describe things that it may be surprising to learn are still around — you wouldn't say jeans you bought last year are extant, but a pair of jeans worn by Marilyn Monroe back in the 1950s? Definitely extant.