as in cynical
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Recent Examples of nihilistic
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
In December, Patel wrote on X that the FBI is pursuing hundreds of nihilistic violent extremism cases, including many from another network called 764.
—Lauren Fichten, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
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
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
In December, Patel wrote on X that the FBI is pursuing hundreds of nihilistic violent extremism cases, including many from another network called 764.
—Lauren Fichten, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nihilistic
Adjective
-
Critics have accused the company’s AI researcher, co-founder, and CEO, Dario Amodei, of a cynical attempt to block competition.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Houellebecq is a famously cynical figure, and an odd bedfellow for Dreher.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 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
-
New meme shows 'nihilist penguin' walking to a mountain.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
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Benjamin Voisin won Best Actor for his performance as the novel’s nihilist protagonist Meursault.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Recent economic data offered a buoyant picture of the US economy, even if many Americans remain pessimistic.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
That leaves plenty of room for investors’ imaginations—both optimistic and pessimistic—to run wild.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nihilistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nihilistic. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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