The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word ESSE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
S
S
E
More clues leading to the result ESSE
- … being included in one’s selection
- Existence, whichever way you look at it
- Actual existence of fairies, seemingly
- Existential being gatecrashing Socrates’ seminar
- Actual existence unaffected by setback
- Existence of some fairies — seriously!
- Being in the heart of the ship
- Actual existence within Angles’ settlement
- Being Southeast raised, Southeast laid to rest
- Ultimately life is aimless, futile existence
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Existence" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case existence = esse.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.