as in cynical
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Recent Examples of nihilistic
What began as a niche repertory experiment now spans nearly 100 theaters across 73 cities and eight countries, suggesting the Cinematheque’s gleefully nihilistic concept has tapped into a seriously underfed audience.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 May 2026
This Man on Fire isn’t designed to be a complex, brutal, nihilistic portrait of vigilantism and violence.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
Margo’s Got Money Troubles premiered the same week as the third season of HBO’s nihilistic teen drama Euphoria, in which Sydney Sweeney’s dead-eyed Cassie has taken to the popular subscription service, dressing up as a seductive puppy and even a pacifier-sucking baby.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
This nihilistic perspective has been a ubiquitous point of departure for prestige television at least since the first season of Succession.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
The senior attending physician’s behavior has worried many in the hospital as he's appeared more nihilistic and short-tempered than usual.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
But a 2021 set at a notorious homeless encampment in Oakland earned backlash from advocates, who said the band was taking advantage of desperate people to throw aesthetically nihilistic punk shows.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Irony doesn’t have to be nihilistic or despairing.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
In Say Nothing, published in 2019, Keefe effectively solves a decades-old cold case of a missing mother of 10 in Belfast, a killing that illustrates the nihilistic violence and human toll of the Troubles.
—Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 May 2026
This Man on Fire isn’t designed to be a complex, brutal, nihilistic portrait of vigilantism and violence.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
Margo’s Got Money Troubles premiered the same week as the third season of HBO’s nihilistic teen drama Euphoria, in which Sydney Sweeney’s dead-eyed Cassie has taken to the popular subscription service, dressing up as a seductive puppy and even a pacifier-sucking baby.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
This nihilistic perspective has been a ubiquitous point of departure for prestige television at least since the first season of Succession.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
The senior attending physician’s behavior has worried many in the hospital as he's appeared more nihilistic and short-tempered than usual.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
But a 2021 set at a notorious homeless encampment in Oakland earned backlash from advocates, who said the band was taking advantage of desperate people to throw aesthetically nihilistic punk shows.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Irony doesn’t have to be nihilistic or despairing.
—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
In Say Nothing, published in 2019, Keefe effectively solves a decades-old cold case of a missing mother of 10 in Belfast, a killing that illustrates the nihilistic violence and human toll of the Troubles.
—Frank Langfitt, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nihilistic
Adjective
-
Senate Bill 6-D, one of the cynical subjects of this special session, would have further weakened Florida’s childhood vaccination rates, which have already sunk too low.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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Both Angela Ingersoll, who played the ever-hopeful Sally, and Michelle Duffy, as the cynical realist Phyllis, pulsed with vivacious energy, playing across from Rapp’s sardonic take on wound-tight Ben and Wallem’s deeply sad exploration of Buddy.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Beats that might once have been framed through a hazy, absurdist lens now play as something much more fatalistic and frightening.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 Apr. 2026
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Most people have a very fatalistic view of their age.—
Erin Allday,
San Francisco Chronicle,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Advertisement Just as Nietzsche warned of the dangers of a nihilist moral void leading to societal decay, the current disregard for responsible data practices could erode trust in institutions and perpetuate systemic inequalities.—
Alice Xiang,
Time,
6 May 2026
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Our impressively multicultural team of street racers now freelance in the shadowy and complex world of covert ops, jetting around the world to take down an increasingly unhinged array of nihilist supervillains.—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
On Polymarket, traders have a slightly more pessimistic outlook.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
4 May 2026
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As Insider notes, this isn’t the first time that Garman has hit back against some of the more pessimistic predictions about AI job takeovers.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nihilistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilistic. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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