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• zeitgeist
  zeitgeist

  noun

  the spirit of the time; the general trend of thought, feeling, or tastes characteristic of a particular period of time.
• Zeitgeist
  Zeitgeist

  The general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era; Zeitgeist is German for “time-spirit.” For example, the Zeitgeist of England in the Victorian period included a belief in industrial progress, and the Zeitgeist of the 1980s in the United States was a belief in the power of money and the many ways in which to spend it.

zeitgeist

American  

[tsahyt-, zahyt-gahyst] / ˈtsaɪt-, ˈzaɪtˌgaɪst /

Sometimes Zeitgeist

noun

1. the spirit of the time; the general trend of thought, feeling, or tastes characteristic of a particular period of time.

   It’s one of those iconic novels that represents the zeitgeist of the mid-1990s so perfectly that reading it provides the ideal dose of nostalgia.

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zeitgeist British  

/ ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst /

noun

1. the spirit, attitude, or general outlook of a specific time or period, esp as it is reflected in literature, philosophy, etc

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Zeitgeist Cultural  

1. The general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era; Zeitgeist is German for “time-spirit.” For example, the Zeitgeist of England in the Victorian period included a belief in industrial progress, and the Zeitgeist of the 1980s in the United States was a belief in the power of money and the many ways in which to spend it.

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Usage

What does zeitgeist mean? The zeitgeist is the collective attitude or outlook of people or a culture at a specific point in time. Zeitgeist can be used in discussion of the current moment, a narrow period of time  in the past, or a broader period or era. Literature and other media are sometimes said to express the Zeitgeist of the time they were created in or of a past period of time. The word is capitalized in its original language, German, and is sometimes capitalized in English (Zeitgeist). Example: The zeitgeist at the time was a feeling that anything was possible.

Etymology

Origin of zeitgeist

First recorded in 1840–50; from German Zeitgeist, equivalent to Zeit “time, age, epoch” + Geist “spirit, mind, intellect”; cf. tide ¹ ( def. ), ghost ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zeitgeist Zeitgeist

For decades, her insatiable musical curiosity allowed her to surf the zeitgeist, often introducing new sounds to pop before they'd gone mainstream.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

When betting on the artificial-intelligence trade outpaces gains in the world’s biggest digital currency by more than 200%, you know you’re witnessing a sea change in the global investment zeitgeist.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

The prose will be aimed less at the high-falutin readers of literary magazines and more at young people with an interest in the cultural zeitgeist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

But growing up, it definitely wasn’t in my cultural zeitgeist, whatever you want to call it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

It went on and vanished among the fronds of a distant island; but the calm had been broken, and through all the stems there ran a restless sense of anticipation, a zeitgeist of prophetic import.

From Edge of the Jungle by William Beebe

At 14, Alexandra started the fashion blog Alex and Ella with her close friend, and later launched her own site, the Zeitgeist, where she continued to write about fashion, art, travel and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025

The result is Zeitgeist Films’ “Taking Venice,” which will have its theatrical release next month in New York and Los Angeles.

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2024

The film’s carefulness to avoid running afoul of the Zeitgeist may have come at a cost of sheer cinematic delight, as suggested by some of the reviews.

From Washington Times ● May 25, 2023

The group's brands are known for "capturing the Zeitgeist" noted Solca, who said Gucci's past success was "the most impressive turnaround story in luxury history."

From Reuters ● Jan. 13, 2023

Today Zeitgeist, as the glue that holds period' styles together and accounts for their inner unity, is rarely invoked.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson