nihilistic

[ nahy-uh-lis-tik ]

adjective

1. of or believing in nihilism, or the total rejection of established laws and institutions:

   An exhibition of nihilistic art—now there's an oxymoron!

2. embracing anarchy, terrorism, and destruction:

   nihilistic tactics learned in a terrorist bootcamp.

3. Philosophy. of or believing in an extreme form of skepticism; belief in nothingness.

Other Words From

• nihil·isti·cal·ly adverb
• anti·nihil·istic adjective
• nonni·hil·istic adjective
• unni·hil·istic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nihilistic¹

nihil(ism) + -istic

Example Sentences

The pair aren’t eligible to vote and don’t feel safe under either potential administration, so they’ve elected to be generally nihilistic about the whole thing, while acknowledging it could affect their future.

From Los Angeles Times

The worst thing we can do is become depressed or nihilistic or give up, knowing that’s the outcome for all of us.

From Los Angeles Times

For a little under a year, she went through treatment, and steadily she changed — she became sour, nihilistic and impenetrably dark, just like the rest of us.

From New York Times

There was soul-searching, recrimination and fear, but there was also an adrenaline-fueled giddiness that so often occurs in the aftermath, the dark-humored, nihilistic and occasionally ecstatic acknowledgment of survival.

From Los Angeles Times

Imagine: a sprawling, expensive adaptation of a beloved videogame franchise that features an unlikely duo — a nihilistic old gunslinger with a tortured past and a tough young woman whose mission overlaps with his.

From New York Times

Related Words

• anarchic