English language word of the week: Nihilism

ni·hil·ism (nī'ə-lĭz'əm, nē'-)
n.
Philosophy

An extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence.

A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.

Rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a willingness to repudiate all previous theories of morality or religious belief.

The belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement.

also Nihilism A diffuse, revolutionary movement of mid 19th-century Russia that scorned authority and tradition and believed in reason, materialism, and radical change in society and government through terrorism and assassination.

Psychiatry A delusion, experienced in some mental disorders, that the world or one's mind, body, or self does not exist.


[Latin nihil, nothing; see ne in Indo-European roots + -ism.]
ni'hil·ist n., ni'hil·is'tic adj., ni'hil·is'ti·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Medical Dictionary

ni·hi·lism definition
Pronunciation: /ˈnī-(h)ə-ˌliz-əm, ˈnē-/
Function: n
1 : NIHILISTIC DELUSION
2 : skepticism as to the value of a drug or method of treatment
ni·hi·lis·ticPronunciation: /ˌnī-(h)ə-ˈlis-tik, ˌnē-/
Function: adj
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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nihilism ni·hil·ism (nī'ə-lĭz'əm, nē'-)
n.

The belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement.

A delusion, experienced in some mental disorders, that the world or one's mind, body, or self does not exist.

The systems are thoroughly empty and false. The term is from the Latin nihil, meaning “nothing.”