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nirvana

American  
[nir-vah-nuh, -van-uh, ner-] / nɪrˈvɑ nə, -ˈvæn ə, nər- /

noun

  1. Pali nibbana.  (often initial capital letter) freedom from the endless cycle of personal reincarnations, with their consequent suffering, as a result of the extinction of individual passion, hatred, and delusion: attained by the Arhat as his goal but postponed by the Bodhisattva.

  2. (often initial capital letter) salvation through the union of Atman with Brahma; moksha.

  3. a place or state characterized by freedom from or oblivion to pain, worry, and the external world.

nirvana British  
/ nɜː-, nɪəˈvɑːnə /

noun

  1. Buddhism Hinduism final release from the cycle of reincarnation attained by extinction of all desires and individual existence, culminating (in Buddhism) in absolute blessedness, or (in Hinduism) in absorption into Brahman

"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
nirvana Cultural  

  1. In Buddhism, the highest state of consciousness, in which the soul is freed from all desires and attachments. Nirvana is sometimes inaccurately used as a synonym for heaven or paradise.

Other Word Forms

  • nirvanic adjective

Etymology

Origin of nirvana

First recorded in 1830–40, nirvana is from the Sanskrit word nirvāṇa

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The WBC achieved nirvana in 2023, when Team USA met Japan in the championship, and Shohei Ohtani stood on the mound to face then-Angels teammate Mike Trout in the bottom of the ninth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Believing the claims of technology promoters that one or another nirvana is just around the corner is a mug’s game.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2026

As awful as the pandemic was for just about everyone, it could be considered nirvana for retailers.

From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025

It’s not a coincidence that to enter the Palais des Festivals, the central hub, you must climb 24 red-carpeted steps, as if you’re ascending into some movie nirvana.

From Seattle Times • May 14, 2024

And two delicate slippers with the softest leather soles and two giant pearls on each toe, to light her way to nirvana.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.