What does Nihilism mean?

Definitions for Nihilism
ˈnaɪ əˌlɪz əm, ˈni-ni·hilism

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Nihilism.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. nihilismnoun

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

  2. nihilistic delusion, nihilismnoun

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

  3. nihilismnoun

    complete denial of all established authority and institutions

Wiktionary

  1. nihilismnoun

    Extreme skepticism, maintaining that nothing has a real existence.

  2. nihilismnoun

    The rejection of all moral principles.

  3. nihilismnoun

    (capitalized by protagonist Turgenev) A Russian anarchistic revolutionary doctrine (1860-1917) holding that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake, independent of any constructive program or possibility.

  4. nihilismnoun

    The belief that all endeavors are ultimately futile and devoid of meaning.

    "...the band members sweat hard enough to earn their pretensions, and maybe even their nihilism" (rock critic Dave Marsh, reviewing the band XTC's album Go)

  5. nihilismnoun

    Contradiction (not always deliberate) between behavior and espoused principle, to such a degree that all possible espoused principle is voided.

  6. nihilismnoun

    The deliberate refusal of belief, to the point that belief itself is rejected as untenable.

  7. Etymology: From Nihilismus, itself from nihil + German -ismus '-ism', coined in 1817 by German philosopher Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, but repeatedly 'reinvented'.

ChatGPT

  1. nihilism

    Nihilism is a philosophical belief or theory that rejects or denies the existence of inherent meaning, purpose, or value in life. It often asserts that concepts such as morality, religion, or truth are purely fictional and have no essential basis in reality. Nihilists often reject or ignore beliefs in personal or societal structures, norms and conventions.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Nihilismnoun

    nothingness; nihility

  2. Nihilismnoun

    the doctrine that nothing can be known; scepticism as to all knowledge and all reality

  3. Nihilismnoun

    the theories and practices of the Nihilists

  4. Etymology: [L. nihil nothing: cf. F. nihilisme. See Annihilate.]

Wikidata

  1. Nihilism

    Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take epistemological or metaphysical/ontological forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist. The term nihilism is sometimes used in association with anomie to explain the general mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realising there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws. Movements such as Futurism and deconstruction, among others, have been identified by commentators as "nihilistic" at various times in various contexts. Nihilism is also a characteristic that has been ascribed to time periods: for example, Jean Baudrillard and others have called postmodernity a nihilistic epoch, and some Christian theologians and figures of religious authority have asserted that postmodernity and many aspects of modernity represent a rejection of theism, and that rejection of their theistic doctrine entails nihilism.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Nihilism

    the principles of a movement on the part of the educated classes in Russia which repudiates the existing creed and organisation of society, and insists on a root and branch wholesale abolition of them and a reconstruction of them on communistic principles, and for the purely secular and everyday ends of common life, subordinating everything in the first place to the feeding, clothing, and lodging of human beings in a manner worthy of their rank in the scale of being. The term Nihilism is also applied to those philosophical systems which sweep the course clear of all incredibilities and irrationalities, but leave us bare of all our inherited spiritual possessions.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Nihilism in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Nihilism in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of Nihilism in a Sentence

  1. Iggy Pop:

    Nihilism is best done by professionals.

  2. Scott C. Holstad:

    seeing is believing they say and if boundaries are limitless are we? or is existence twofold and doomed before the sights are set and if so does God really weep for humanity and must we continue to seek sustenance through escapism and do sporting events in all their microcosmic glory refute the tenets of nihilism or should we simply accept and wallow in our ignorance unbearable lightness of being creatures who feelwhat -- I don’t know

  3. Irving Kristol:

    The enemy of liberal capitalism today is not so much socialism as nihilism.

  4. President Barack Obama on Friday:

    May we always remember that our shared heritage makes us stronger, that our roots are intertwined, may we always choose faith over nihilism, and courage over despair, and hope over cynicism and fear.

  5. Jaroslaw Kaczynski:

    If someone fights this system, then regardless of whether they are a believer or nor, they favor nihilism.

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Translations for Nihilism

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"Nihilism." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Nihilism>.

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