ex nihilo

[ eks nahy-uh-loh, nee-uh- ]

adverb

, Latin.

1. out of nothing; from nothing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ex nihilo¹

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin ex nihilō, equivalent to ex + nihilō (ablative singular of nihil “nothing”); ex- ¹( def ), nil

Example Sentences

Trumpism was not suddenly born ex nihilo in 2015; it has been at least 30 years in the making.

From Salon

Finally, while this trend clearly skyrocketed during the pandemic, it didn’t emerge ex nihilo.

From New York Times

It was creatio ex nihilo, despite the Aristotelian ban on the vacuum.

From Literature

Any number can be written as a string of zeros and ones; to Leibniz, this was the creation ex nihilo, the creation of the universe out of nothing more than God/1 and void/0.

From Literature

The Hilton was Europe’s first major modern hotel to be constructed ex nihilo after the war, built with glass, steel and White Portland cement from Germany, marble from Italy, aluminum windows, elevators and air-conditioning units from America.

From New York Times