nihilism
total rejection of established laws and institutions.
anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity.
total and absolute destructiveness, especially toward the world at large and including oneself: the power-mad nihilism that marked Hitler's last years.
Philosophy.
an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth.
nothingness or nonexistence.
(sometimes initial capital letter) the principles of a Russian revolutionary group, active in the latter half of the 19th century, holding that existing social and political institutions must be destroyed in order to clear the way for a new state of society and employing extreme measures, including terrorism and assassination.
annihilation of the self, or the individual consciousness, especially as an aspect of mystical experience.
Origin of nihilism
1Other words from nihilism
- ni·hil·ist, noun, adjective
- ni·hil·is·tic, adjective
- an·ti·ni·hil·ism, noun
- an·ti·ni·hil·ist, noun, adjective
- non·ni·hil·ism, noun
- non·ni·hil·ist, noun
Words Nearby nihilism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use nihilism in a sentence
Today, horror is characterized by an overall tonal shift toward chaotic nihilism, realism, loss of innocence, and stories that explore social themes.
Yes, this sounds scary, but it doesn’t mean you should embrace full-on nihilism or stop sending nudes altogether.
A complete guide on how to safely take, send, and store nudes | Sandra Gutierrez G. | September 9, 2021 | Popular-ScienceTwo new books—Under the Sky We Make, by Kimberly Nicholas, and Overheated, by Kate Aronoff—provide an antidote to climate nihilism.
The journalist Malcolm Gladwell, on his podcast, “Revisionist History,” devoted a recent episode to his theory of “hiring nihilism.”
HireVue drops facial monitoring amid A.I. algorithm audit | Jeremy Kahn | January 19, 2021 | FortuneThey often seem on the brink of nihilism before we even cover the syllabus.
Generation Z is ‘traumatized’ by climate change—and they’re the key to fighting it | matthewheimer | August 19, 2020 | Fortune
I think with that generation, so many of their hopes have been so dashed that nihilism is really a natural response.
The Gospel According to Nick Denton—What Next For The Gawker Founder? | Lloyd Grove | December 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt’s arguably the best film of the ‘90s—a postmodern pop culture smorgasbord awash in nihilism and dripping with retro cool.
The Secrets of ‘Pulp Fiction’: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie on Its 20th Anniversary | Marlow Stern | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTRepublican leaders have no alternative but to join the president in rejecting such nihilism.
Republicans Who Threaten to Have U.S. Default on Debt Are Nihilists | Robert Shapiro | January 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTTo understand better the nihilism of Thiessen's thinking, I must now quote his column at greater length.
Doomsday Conservatives: Too Many Hormones, Too Little Plan | David Frum | December 12, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTOver the past four years, Republicans have suffered from a combination of tactical radicalism joined to strategic nihilism.
Doomsday Conservatives: Too Many Hormones, Too Little Plan | David Frum | December 12, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThen when the authorities thought nihilism was stamped out by wholesale severity the matter assumed another phase.
Condemned as a Nihilist | George Alfred HentyBut his liberalism is not in the least akin to nihilism or Anarchism.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste TchaikovskyWith therapeutic nihilism or skepticism of the power of drugs I have no sympathy.
Psychotherapy | James J. WalshKoscheleff, writing in 1874, gives a similar explanation of nihilism.
Contemporary Socialism | John RaeThis is the only view an American, the child of 1620 and 1776, can take of nihilism.
The Art of Public Speaking | Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein
British Dictionary definitions for nihilism (1 of 2)
/ (ˈnaɪɪˌlɪzəm) /
a complete denial of all established authority and institutions
philosophy an extreme form of scepticism that systematically rejects all values, belief in existence, the possibility of communication, etc
a revolutionary doctrine of destruction for its own sake
the practice or promulgation of terrorism
Origin of nihilism
1Derived forms of nihilism
- nihilist, noun, adjective
- nihilistic, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Nihilism (2 of 2)
/ (ˈnaɪɪˌlɪzəm) /
(in tsarist Russia) any of several revolutionary doctrines that upheld terrorism
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for nihilism
[ (neye-uh-liz-uhm, nee-uh-liz-uhm) ]
An approach to philosophy that holds that human life is meaningless and that all religions, laws, moral codes, and political systems are thoroughly empty and false. The term is from the Latin nihil, meaning “nothing.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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