as in cynical
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Recent Examples of nihilistic
The nihilistic attachment between its doomed lovers, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, was too stormy and unruly for my tastes.
—
Radhika Jones, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles FBI field office, said the number of nihilistic violent extremists targeting children is growing nationwide.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Industry has a darker, more nihilistic worldview.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
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
The film — violent, nihilistic, steeped in an ocean’s worth of fake blood — set off a minor moral panic.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Eventually, Daniel’s delusions became nihilistic.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 15 Jan. 2026
Worse, Spike is forced to join Crystal’s gang and take the name Jimmy, effectively joining a nihilistic death cult that, for a time, brings to mind the daddy of all nihilistic death cults, the one seen in 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2026
Radhika Jones, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles FBI field office, said the number of nihilistic violent extremists targeting children is growing nationwide.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Industry has a darker, more nihilistic worldview.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
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
The film — violent, nihilistic, steeped in an ocean’s worth of fake blood — set off a minor moral panic.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Eventually, Daniel’s delusions became nihilistic.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 15 Jan. 2026
Worse, Spike is forced to join Crystal’s gang and take the name Jimmy, effectively joining a nihilistic death cult that, for a time, brings to mind the daddy of all nihilistic death cults, the one seen in 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nihilistic
Adjective
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The role demands charisma, vocal chops, and sharp comedic timing, all deployed within one of the most cynical satires in the musical theater canon.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Smith added two more penalties after halftime for 18-10 with Italy down a man after hooker Giacomo Nicotera was yellow-carded for a cynical ruck foul.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Mar. 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
Adjective
-
Blood Meridian throws out the Western trope of good versus evil in favor of a nihilist view of a world consumed by violence.—
Carolina A. Miranda,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
-
New meme shows 'nihilist penguin' walking to a mountain.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Citrini was far from the only voice prophesying such a pessimistic future.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2026
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The thought, the incredibly pessimistic thought, is that those who bought the debt of too many high-risk enterprise software companies may not make it because of the amazing AI products out there now, even as the portfolio companies of the two biggest private equity firms are about AI.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nihilistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilistic. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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