Link Centre Dictionary

nihilism

ni·hi·lism

UK/ˈnaɪ.(h)ɪ.lɪ.z(ə)m/ US/ˈnɪ-/ uncommon

noun

1.

a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake

2.

the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal

Synonyms
3.

complete denial of all established authority and institutions

Origin

Probably borrowed from French nihilisme, German Nihilismus, or Late Latin nihilismus; the French, German, and Latin words are derived from Latin nihil (“indefinite nothing”), from nihilum (“nothing”), from ne- (prefix negating the principal meaning) + hīlum (“a trifle; not in the least”). The English word is cognate with Italian nichilismo, Spanish nihilismo, Russian нигили́зм (nigilízm), philosophical doctrine grounded on negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life; emptiness; lack of education and cultural refinement.

Phrases

  • existential nihilism
  • moral nihilism
  • nihil obstat

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.