as in nihilistic
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as in fatalist
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Recent Examples of nihilist
David Browne, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025
Nate Jones, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
The activist Left is, in truth, nihilist.
—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
There’s no nihilist energy in the song.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
Sirāt was the only Neon contender to miss out on a Best Picture spot at the Globes (its noms came in Non-English Language and Score), adding to the feeling that this nihilist epic is the title most at risk of missing with Oscar.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
The activist Left is, in truth, nihilist.
—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nihilist
Adjective
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Although the other Na’vi are very tapped into large Mother Gaia notions of flora and fauna, and the belief that everyone is connected on Pandora, the ash people have a much more nihilistic worldview.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
19 Dec. 2025
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But the movie isn’t a cheaply cynical or nihilistic experience; its gravest horrors spring from a complex understanding of how human compassion persists in a universe that is fundamentally opposed to its existence.—
JUSTIN CHANG,
New Yorker,
5 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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This adaptation of the popular RPG could have been a cynical cash grab, but writer-directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley chose the right approach by crafting a loving tribute to what makes the game so addictive without taking it too seriously.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Daria The monotone, cynical, ultimate critic of suburban life, popularity, and high school.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The belief by cynics is that Netflix wants to be a streaming service.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
26 Dec. 2025
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In the years after 1991, Russians were trained cynics, having lived through Soviet decline and collapse; forcing belief would be a difficult endeavor, with an unclear upside.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Known for his spare, unforgiving style and darkly comic fatalistic sensibility, along with his penchant for leather jackets, lots of smoking and a deadpan sense of humor, Tarr was a quintessential arthouse filmmaker.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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There was this kind of fatalistic view that there was not that much that could be done.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
18 Dec. 2025
Noun
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By the late chapters, Daphne and her contemporaries, now old, seem to remember less about those days with Cecil than does the reader, who came through them recently—an inspired way of calling forth the novel-ness of the novel without breaking the realist’s line.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
31 Dec. 2025
-
Since Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the planet associated with responsibilities, boundaries and restrictions, those born under the sign are realists.—
Olivia Munson,
USA Today,
20 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Aussie newcomer Yerin Ha is the juggernaut's new leading lady—a strong yet soft pragmatist whose quiet charisma hooks Benedict, the ton, and, soon enough, audiences everywhere.—
InStyle,
InStyle,
20 Jan. 2026
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Zig-zagging from a tactical fundamentalist in Amorim to the ultimate pragmatist in the former England boss makes a degree of sense for a club desperate to find stability and show progress.—
Peter South,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nihilist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilist. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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