as in nihilistic
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as in fatalist
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Recent Examples of nihilist
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 31 Jan. 2026
Benjamin Voisin won Best Actor for his performance as the novel’s nihilist protagonist Meursault.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 18 Jan. 2026
There’s no nihilist energy in the song.
—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
New meme shows 'nihilist penguin' walking to a mountain.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 31 Jan. 2026
Benjamin Voisin won Best Actor for his performance as the novel’s nihilist protagonist Meursault.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 18 Jan. 2026
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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The non-profit also found a teenager who stabbed people outside a mosque in Turkey appeared to have been influenced by nihilistic subcultures.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The community is simply too nihilistic.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In his experiences and chronicles of the great ideological battles of the twentieth century, Curzio Malaparte was a shape-shifter—pitiless, clinical, cynical, unsentimental, indifferent to morality and idealism.—
Leah Downey,
The New York Review of Books,
7 Feb. 2026
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That didn’t happen, not least because of the cynical fecklessness of regional powers.—
Juan Pablo Spinetto,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This is not a home for doomers, cynics, or know-it-alls.—
Daphne Koller,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
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In a real life departure, cynics would say, truth is rewarded in the tests.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
12 Jan. 2026
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
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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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As a candidate, Klobuchar faced stories of disgruntled Senate staffers who described her as a difficult boss but also distinguished herself on crowded debate stages as a determined pragmatist.—
Bill Barrow,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Nihilist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilist. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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