ex nihilo
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of ex nihilo
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin ex nihilō, equivalent to ex + nihilō (ablative singular of nihil “nothing”); see origin at ex- 1 ( def. ), nil
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Despite what a distressing number of credentialed Americans appear to think, antisemitism doesn’t burst onto the scene ex nihilo with pogroms and Nuremberg Laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Finally, while this trend clearly skyrocketed during the pandemic, it didn’t emerge ex nihilo.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2022
Finally, the course of events in Los Angeles challenged the myth that the “Old Left” was irrelevant in the Sixties and that the New Left had invented itself ex nihilo.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 15, 2020
It’s an act of creatio ex nihilo, where you conjure a whole new tiny universe just through the power of your squishy human brain.
From Slate ● Feb. 14, 2020
The first was the problem of the creation of life from nonlife—genesis ex nihilo.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
