zeitgeist

noun

zeit·​geist ˈtsīt-ˌgīst  ˈzīt- 

variants often Zeitgeist

: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

Did you know?

Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all others. In German, such a spirit is known as Zeitgeist, from the German words Zeit, meaning "time," and Geist, meaning "spirit" or "ghost." (This same Geist, when combined with poltern, meaning "to knock," led to the English word poltergeist referring to a noisy ghost.) It is common nowadays to read about something "tapping into" or "capturing" the zeitgeist, as doing so often entails popularity or profitability in appealing to a great many people, though sometimes the zeitgeist of a particular time and place is only recognized in hindsight, either due to nostalgia or with the benefit of (one hopes) greater wisdom.

Examples of zeitgeist in a Sentence

His songs perfectly captured the zeitgeist of 1960s America.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bay Area and Silicon Valley has always been ripe for both some ribbing and some potent storytelling on the big and small screen, due to its colorful history and its current role as capitol of the American technological zeitgeist. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026

While Love Story brought the Kennedy family back into the pop-culture zeitgeist, one scion of the political dynasty was already making headlines back in 2024. —Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 6 Apr. 2026

The shoe returned to the zeitgeist in the late ’60s and ’70s as an anchor of the bohemian uniform. —Andrea Zendejas, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2026

Branding and marketing executives have always loved nothing more than seizing the latest, abstraction that can somehow bend the ever-changing Zeitgeist to their favor and tell a tale, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. —Bruce Stockler, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

German, from Zeit + Geist spirit

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for zeitgeist

• enticed
• sufficed
• antichrist
• overpriced
• poltergeist
• sacrificed
• diced
• feist
• heist
• iced
• lysed
• priced

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