nihilistic
Americanadjective
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of or believing in nihilism, or the total rejection of established laws and institutions.
An exhibition of nihilistic art—now there's an oxymoron!
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embracing anarchy, terrorism, and destruction.
nihilistic tactics learned in a terrorist bootcamp.
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Philosophy. of or believing in an extreme form of skepticism; belief in nothingness.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nihilistic
Explanation
A nihilistic person believes that life is meaningless. If you go through your teenage years in a nihilistic frame of mind, nothing seems to matter to you. Someone who's nihilistic believes in the philosophy of nihilism, which embraces the idea that life as we know it is useless. If you're nihilistic, you don't believe in anything — not religion, a moral code, love. Being nihilistic is also closely related to the political philosophy of anarchism, a belief that all social structures need to be destroyed before a new, better society can be developed.
Vocabulary lists containing nihilistic
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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.
Allizandra Herberhold, a nihilistic violent extremism consultant and exit interventionist who works with the nonprofit Parents for Peace, told me extreme content is used as a form of currency in these communities.
From Slate • May 12, 2026
The matricide trial of Orestes, portrayed as a shining moment for Athens by Aeschylus in “The Oresteia,” becomes a nihilistic farce in the hands of Euripides.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
This is a losing battle by definition, one that testifies to the nihilistic self-hatred and appetite for self-destruction that Baudrillard observed in 2002.
From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026
The FBI recently recognised a new category of threat called nihilistic violent extremism or NVE, defined by a general hostility to society and desire for chaos rather than a sharply defined ideology.
From BBC • Sep. 19, 2025
The Threepenny Opera was a kind of Trainspotting for the late 1920s, presenting the middle classes with a grimy, warts-and-all vision of the alienated, nihilistic underclass.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
