nihilism

noun

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ni·hil·ism | \ ˈnī-(h)ə-ˌli-zəm

, ˈnē-

Definition of nihilism

1a : a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless Nihilism is a condition in which all ultimate values lose their value.— Ronald H. Nash

b : a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths

2a : a doctrine or belief 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

b capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination

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Examples of nihilism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That ambient mirroring is familiar—think of the fatuous boomer triumphalism of the Clinton years, or George W. Bush’s blithe swaggering sadism, or Obama’s coolly virtuosic nihilism. — David Roth, The New Republic, "The Littlest Prince," 17 Nov. 2020 Vendors who deal in seasonal cheer had to make a choice this summer: proceed with business as usual, or lean into the grief, anxiety and nihilism of this year, and hopefully make people laugh in the process. — Dina Gachman, New York Times, "’Tis the Season for Toilet Paper Ornaments," 20 Oct. 2020 Anti-American nihilism and hopeless racial cynicism give the show its gotcha. — Armond White, National Review, "Lovecraft Country Is Systemic Racism Entertainment™," 26 Aug. 2020 Faith might be nothing more than the irrational rejection of evidence to the contrary, but almost all of us prefer it to facing up to nihilism. — Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, "The romance of mobile devices," 25 Oct. 2020 Despite his own propensity for bleakness, Berninger rarely crosses into nihilism. — Washington Post, "Matt Berninger, king of melancholy music, is doing just fine," 14 Oct. 2020 The former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s nihilism is the spiritual heir to Abbie Hoffman’s jolly anarchy in the 1960s. — New York Times, "Does an Intellectual History of the Trump Era Exist? It Does Now," 6 Oct. 2020 Through Carla, Crouch’s heroine, Crouch sounded off on Thomas Jefferson, liberal hypocrisy, conservative hypocrisy, pandering hip-hop, American cultural nihilism, New Orleans jazz and Chicago blues, among other topics. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Remembering Stanley Crouch, a courageous voice who confronted truth," 28 Sep. 2020 Such self-destructive indulgence of totalitarian nihilism is evidence of just how deep our current crisis has become. — Daniel J. Mahoney, National Review, "The Spirit of Religion and the Spirit of Liberty," 23 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nihilism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.