nihilism
Meanings
Plural: nihilisms
Noun
- a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake
- the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal
- complete denial of all established authority and institutions
- The view that all endeavours are devoid of objective meaning.
- The rejection of, or opposition to, religious beliefs, (inherent or objective) moral principles, legal rules, etc., often due to the view that life is meaningless (sense 1).
- The rejection of non-proven or non-rationalized assertions in the social and political spheres of society.
- A delusion that oneself or the world, or parts thereof, have ceased to exist.
- Alternative letter-case form of Nihilism (“a Russian movement of the 1860s that rejected all authority and promoted the use of violence for political change”).
- A doctrine grounded on the negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life; in particular, the view that nothing in the world actually exists.
- Something that is regarded as meaningless.
Origin / Etymology
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.
Synonyms
existential nihilism, moral nihilism, nihilistic delusion
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 13
nihilism is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordnihilism is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
nihilism is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary