zeitgeist

American  

[tsahyt-, zahyt-gahyst] / ˈtsaɪt-, ˈzaɪtˌgaɪst /

noun

1. Sometimes Zeitgeist the spirit of the time; the general trend of thought, feeling, or tastes characteristic of a particular period of time.

   It’s one of those iconic novels that represents the zeitgeist of the mid-1990s so perfectly that reading it provides the ideal dose of nostalgia.

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zeitgeist British  

/ ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst /

noun

1. the spirit, attitude, or general outlook of a specific time or period, esp as it is reflected in literature, philosophy, etc

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Zeitgeist Cultural  

1. The general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era; Zeitgeist is German for “time-spirit.” For example, the Zeitgeist of England in the Victorian period included a belief in industrial progress, and the Zeitgeist of the 1980s in the United States was a belief in the power of money and the many ways in which to spend it.

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Usage

What does zeitgeist mean? The zeitgeist is the collective attitude or outlook of people or a culture at a specific point in time.Zeitgeist can be used in discussion of the current moment, a narrow period of time  in the past, or a broader period or era. Literature and other media are sometimes said to express the Zeitgeist of the time they were created in or of a past period of time. The word is capitalized in its original language, German, and is sometimes capitalized in English (Zeitgeist).Example: The zeitgeist at the time was a feeling that anything was possible.

Etymology

Origin of zeitgeist

First recorded in 1840–50; from German Zeitgeist, equivalent to Zeit “time, age, epoch” + Geist “spirit, mind, intellect”; tide ¹ ( def. ), ghost ( def. )

Example Sentences

While public sentiment isn’t as easily measurable as capital expenditures, the fact that Merriam Webster crowned “slop” the word of the year for 2025 suggests that AI has fallen on the wrong side of the zeitgeist.

From MarketWatch

The expansion into entertainment is a way for Hallmark to stay in the zeitgeist over multiple generations and to diversify its business beyond just cards and retail products, analysts said.

From Los Angeles Times

The one-minute spot cleverly capitalizes on the zeitgeist’s knowledge of Paltrow’s relationship to Martin and uses that joke to spin the conversation in another direction, highlighting the Astronomer product’s actual function.

From Salon

Deeper even than what is usually attributed to the zeitgeist.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Holiday Touchdown” is the second movie to come out of Hallmark’s partnership with the NFL — last year’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” was the first, which “kind of tapped into some crazy zeitgeist moment last year,” DiPippo said, referring to the frenzy over the relationship between Taylor Swift and Chiefs player Travis Kelce.

From Los Angeles Times