nihilism
NYE-huhl-iz-uhm
/ˈnaɪ.ɪ.lɪ.zəm/
The philosophical belief that life is meaningless and that all religious, moral, and political values are baseless.
Implies a complete rejection of objective truth and moral order, rather than just a bad mood or temporary sadness.
The story behind the word. Derived from the Latin 'nihil', meaning 'nothing', nihilism entered popular philosophical lexicon through Ivan Turgenev's 1862 novel 'Fathers and Sons', describing characters who rejected all traditional values. Friedrich Nietzsche later analyzed it as the inevitable outcome of modern culture losing its ultimate foundations.
Word relationships
- negativism: Negativism is a general attitude of resistance or denial, whereas nihilism is a formal philosophical stance regarding meaninglessness.
- cynicism: Cynicism distrusts human motives, whereas nihilism denies the existence of intrinsic meaning or values altogether.
- humanism: Humanism affirms human agency and intrinsic value, directly contrasting with nihilism's denial of inherent purpose.
- idealism: Idealism posits noble principles and ultimate moral truths, which nihilism rejects.
Commonly confused with
- pessimism: Pessimism expects bad outcomes within a meaningful reality, while nihilism claims outcomes and life itself have no meaning.
Word family
- nihilist (noun): A person who believes that life is meaningless.
- nihilistic (adjective): Rejecting all religious and moral principles as meaningless.
Collocations
- existential nihilism
- embrace nihilism
- political nihilism
- slide into nihilism
Example sentences
- "Nietzsche warned that the collapse of traditional religious authority would plunge Western culture into a prolonged period of nihilism." Philosophical Literature
- "In 'Fathers and Sons', Turgenev presents Bazarov as a champion of nihilism who rejects all traditional authority and conventions." Literary Fiction (Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev)
Memory hook
Think of 'NIHIL' as 'ANNIHILATE' — erasing everything down to absolute NOTHING. Nihil = Nothing.
When not to use
Do not confuse with mere sadness or temporary disappointment; it denotes an explicit rejection of meaning.
Fun facts
- Ivan Turgenev popularized the term 'nihilist' in Russian literature to describe 1860s rebellious youth who rejected state and church authority.
Explore more words
relativism, absolutism, rationalism, secular, cynical, despair
Also appears in
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.