as in cynical
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Recent Examples of nihilistic
One such critic has crashed the party, and his nihilistic spirit is made vivid by Warren Bowles.
—
Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 29 Sep. 2025
Suspects in several high-profile mass shooting events in recent years allegedly used Discord to announce their actions or trade in violent or nihilistic content there.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025
Henderson, a black 17-year-old student, identified as incel and expressed antisemitic, nihilistic, and occult beliefs, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 22 Sep. 2025
Later, after additional details emerged, still others said the shooter was motivated by nihilistic video game culture.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
The shooter's social media footprint fits into a new wave of online extremism and suggests he was involved in nihilistic violent extremist networks, which often aim to exploit children and teenagers and push them toward violence, experts told The Post.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
The state of alienation that permeates and infuses Camus’ prose is the missing ingredient here and, without it, Meursault cuts a very different figure — less adrift in ennui and more intentionally nihilistic.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Before Dean Moriarty in On the Road and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, there was Meursault, the nihilistic antihero of Albert Camus’ first novel, The Stranger (L’étranger), and one of modern culture’s original bad boys.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
The director is at the top of his visionary nihilistic game in a movie about what’s happening to the world.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 29 Sep. 2025
Suspects in several high-profile mass shooting events in recent years allegedly used Discord to announce their actions or trade in violent or nihilistic content there.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025
Henderson, a black 17-year-old student, identified as incel and expressed antisemitic, nihilistic, and occult beliefs, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 22 Sep. 2025
Later, after additional details emerged, still others said the shooter was motivated by nihilistic video game culture.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
The shooter's social media footprint fits into a new wave of online extremism and suggests he was involved in nihilistic violent extremist networks, which often aim to exploit children and teenagers and push them toward violence, experts told The Post.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
The state of alienation that permeates and infuses Camus’ prose is the missing ingredient here and, without it, Meursault cuts a very different figure — less adrift in ennui and more intentionally nihilistic.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Before Dean Moriarty in On the Road and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, there was Meursault, the nihilistic antihero of Albert Camus’ first novel, The Stranger (L’étranger), and one of modern culture’s original bad boys.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
The director is at the top of his visionary nihilistic game in a movie about what’s happening to the world.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nihilistic
Adjective
-
As my colleague Charlie Warzel wrote in March, on X, the White House is now a troll account, borrowing its snide visual language and tone from some of the internet’s most cynical spaces and deploying this style to mock and dehumanize people.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The whole discourse was so cynical.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That was like a very sort of fatalistic view.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Back on Capitol Hill, the mood is dour and fatalistic.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s no nihilist energy in the song.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The discovery report recorded that the top drawer of the desk contains the provisioner’s ledger and the captain’s expedition journal, but the Danish team who found the ship were pessimistic about the likelihood of the books surviving the tow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
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The Wine Country actress, who performed on SNL for seven seasons from 1999 to 2006, recalled the origins of her profusely pessimistic character during an interview with her former castmate Amy Poehler on Good Hang.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nihilistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilistic. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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